The elected president of Argentina, Javier Milei, met, this Saturday (9), with King Felipe VI of Spain, before his inauguration this Sunday, a ceremony that will be attended by a dozen leaders from Latin America and the Europe, including the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky.
The ultra-rightist received the king at the San Martín Palace, the official headquarters of the Argentine chancellery. The Spanish Royal House published photos of the meeting, without disclosing details of the agenda.
Milei also met in that same palace with Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of Energy of the United States, a country that the president-elect considers a model.
“They discussed the shared priorities between both countries in defending human rights, investing in clean energy, and regional and multilateral cooperation,” said the American embassy in Buenos Aires.
The Presidency of Ukraine confirmed, this Saturday, in a statement, that Volodimir Zelensky will be present at Milei’s inauguration.
“On his way to Argentina to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the elected president, Javier Milei, Volodimir Zelensky met with the Prime Minister of Cape Verde, José Ulisses Correia e Silva”, informed the Presidency of the former Soviet republic, faced with an invasion Russian military since February 2022.
– Mercosur –
This Saturday, Milei also met with the Paraguayan president, Santiago Peña, a right-wing economist like him.
In power since August, Peña described the meeting as “pleasant” and was enthusiastic about the future relationship, as both “have a very similar vision”.
“We want to work closely with the new government,” Peña told the media near the hotel where Milei has stayed since winning the elections.
“Paraguay assumed the pro tempore presidency of Mercosur two days ago, so it will be up to me to coordinate the work over the next six months, and it is very important for us that Argentina gets involved in these conversations at a regional level,” said Peña.
“We still have negotiations with the European Union without conclusion,” he continued, referring to a free trade agreement that has been discussed for 20 years and has not yet been approved, “and others that are very close.”
This Saturday, Milei also plans meetings with the Hungarian prime minister, the also ultra-rightist Viktor Orbán, and the chancellors of Peru, Ecuador and Chile.
Yesterday, Milei received the former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, invited to this Sunday’s inauguration. President Lula, in turn, will not travel to Buenos Aires and will send Chancellor Mauro Vieira to represent him at the ceremony.