Argentina’s Foreign Ministry has announced that President Javier Milei will be hosted personally at the White House next month by US President Donald Trump.
The meeting will take place on October 14, less than two weeks before the nationwide midterm elections. It is the latest
Milei will travel to Washington ahead of the meeting and he and his travelling delegation will stay at Blair House, the official residence used for visiting heads of state, while in the US Capitol.
Diplomatic sources noted the gesture, explaining that the residence is normally reserved for the United States’ closest allies.
The Foreign Ministry in Buenos Aires said the “honour” was a “a demonstration of the excellent bilateral relationship that unites the Argentine Republic and the United States of America, on October 14.”
The meeting is an opportunity “to continue strengthening the strategic partnership between both countries, based on shared values and a common commitment to the freedom, democracy, and prosperity of our peoples,” it added.
Milei celebrated the news with a blunt post on social media, in the style of his presidential spokesperson, that simply read: “MEETING AT THE WHITE HOUSE. END.”
Support from Washington
Trump and Milei met last week in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
The following day, the US said it was in talks with Argentina over a US$20-billion programme of economic support designed to assuage market fears and calm a developing currency crisis.
The peso rebounded after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced his department was negotiating with Argentine officials on "a US$20-billion swap line" and was "ready to do what is needed” to support Milei’s government.
Swap lines are transactions that usually involve two central banks agreeing to swap their currencies at a set exchange rate for a specified period.
Bessent also said that Washington was also ready to buy Argentina's dollar bonds, among other measures.
Milei later thanked the US president and Bessent for their "support and confidence."
He said in his speech to the UN General Assembly that Trump had saved the United States and the world from "catastrophe," citing the Republican president's migration and trade policies.
Bessent has also said Washington is prepared to deliver "stand-by credit" from the Treasury's exchange stabilisation fund.
The Trump administration's plans to use Treasury funds to smooth Milei’s path to the elections raised eyebrows domestically.
– TIMES/NA/AFP
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