This Saturday evening, the President meets Javier Milei, his ultraliberal Argentine counterpart and close ally of Trump, to discuss trade interests, agriculture and global warming.
As expected, Emmanuel Macron arrived in Argentina on Saturday evening where he is due to meet president Javier Mileia close associate of Donald Trump, with the aim of “hang up“to theinternational consensus“. Particularly in the fight against global warming, on the eve of the G20 to be held in Brazil on November 18 and 19.
The presidential plane landed at Buenos Aires airport at around 7:00 pm (10:00 pm in France), according to the Élysée Palace. The head of state, accompanied by his wife Brigitte Macron, was then due to dine with his Argentine counterpart and his sister Karina Milei, Secretary General of the Presidency, before another meeting on Sunday.
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“We don’t always think the same about a lot of things. But it’s very useful to exchange” ahead of the G20, said Emmanuel Macron in a video from his plane posted on TikTok. “We’re going to talk about our commercial interests, our trade, the defense of our agriculture and our farmers…“he added.
Mercosur agreement
During his tour of Latin America, which will also take him to Chile, he will explain to the countries of Mercosur, which includes Argentina and Brazil, why he is opposed to the signing of a free trade agreement between this regional bloc and the European Union.
French farmers plan to mobilize in the coming days against this treaty, which the European Commission, backed by several countries such as Germany and Spain, hopes to sign by the end of the year. They fear a flood of Latin American meat, and warn of unfair competition from products not subject to Europe’s strict environmental and health standards.
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The timing of this visit is special. Javier Milei has just returned from Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s residence in Florida, where he took part in a conservative forum during which he advocated a “alliance” with the United States, Giorgia Meloni’s Italy and Israel to preserve “Western heritage“threatened, in his eyes, by “the cultural hegemony of the left“.
Both the US president-elect and the Argentine leader are keen to turn their backs on major multilateral climate agreements and targets. In this context, Emmanuel Macron hopes to “convince Argentina to continue participating in the international consensus“explains the Élysée. And thus “bring President Milei back into line with G20 priorities“which they will attend on Monday and Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro.
Argentina has just withdrawn its delegation from the COP29 climate negotiations in Baku, and speculation is rife about its possible exit from the Paris Climate Agreement. A move that Donald Trump himself made during his first term in office.
Tribute to French victims
Paris also intends to deepen economic relations, particularly in the field of critical metals, as the French mining company Eramet has just inaugurated a lithium mine in Argentina.
Emmanuel Macron is also expected to push ahead with the possible sale of French Scorpène submarines, although the French presidency puts the state of negotiations in perspective.
On Sunday, the French president will also pay tribute to the twenty or so French citizens who disappeared and were murdered under Argentina’s military dictatorship between 1976 and 1979, while Javier Milei is accused by his detractors of revisionism regarding this dark page in his country’s history.
After Argentina and the G20, Emmanuel Macron will travel to Chile, where on Thursday he will address Congress in Valparaiso on his policy towards Latin America.