BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina formally requested Thursday to join NATO as a global partner, a status that would pave the way for greater political and security cooperation at a time when President’s right-wing government Javier Milei aims to strengthen ties with Western powers and attract investment.
The request comes as NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana holds talks in Brussels with visiting Argentine Defense Minister Luis Petri on regional security challenges.
Geoana said he welcomed Argentina’s attempt to become an accredited partner in the alliance – a valuable role, far from “ally” for countries not in NATO’s geographical area. and who are not required to take part in collective military actions. NATO membership is currently limited to countries in Europe, Turkey, Canada and the United States.
The designation could give Argentina access to advanced technologies, security systems and training that were not previously available to it, the Argentine presidency said.
“Argentina plays an important role in Latin America,” Geoana said at NATO headquarters. “Closer political and practical cooperation could benefit both of us.”
Milei champions a radical libertarian agenda aimed at ending years of protectionist trade measures, excessive spending and crippling international debt that sent the country’s economy into a tailspin.
During his last four months as president, he reshaped Argentina’s foreign policy toward almost unconditional support for the United States – part of an effort to restore Argentina to prominence in the global economy after previous administrations allowed relations with Washington and its European allies to deteriorate. .
Milei’s government also seeks security advantages by strengthening ties with Western countries. On Thursday, the U.S. government announced it would provide Argentina with $40 million in foreign military funding for the first time in more than two decades — a grant that allows major U.S. allies like Israel to purchase American weapons.
These funds, intended to help Argentina equip and modernize its army, will help pay the bill for 24 American F-16 fighter jets purchased by Argentina in Denmark earlier this week. Defense Minister Petri hailed the acquisition of advanced fighter jets as “the most important military purchase since Argentina’s return to democracy” in 1983. The $300 million price tag sparked protests criticism from Milei’s political opponents as he cut government spending.
A formal partnership with NATO requires the consensus of all 32 NATO members. Argentina’s ties with Britain, a key NATO ally, have been strained since 1982, when the two countries went to war over the disputed Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.
Other global partners of the Alliance include Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand and Pakistan. Currently, NATO’s only partner in Latin America is Colombia.
Conferring “global partner” status on a country does not mean that NATO allies will come to the country’s defense in the event of an attack. This commitment – set out in Article 5 of the founding treaty of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – is limited to full members of the alliance.
The dialogue between NATO and Argentina began in the early 1990s. In a largely symbolic move to thank the pro-American government of the time for sending troops for peacekeeping operations in Bosnia , former President Bill Clinton designated Argentina a “major non-NATO ally” in 1998.
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