Olaf Scholz Met with Argentina President Javier Milei
Mercosur and Milei’s economic policy were the main topics of the meeting
July 02nd, 2024
Chancellor Scholz welcomed Javier Milei for a meeting in Berlin. The Argentinian president met with Scholz after visiting Germany to collect a prize in Hamburg as an “ambitious reformer” from the neoliberal Friedrich August von Hayek Society, which has ties to the Alternative für Deutschland party (AfD).
In Berlin, there were no military honors and no press conference but only a short greeting outside the Chancellery. The meeting between Scholz and Milei was one hour behind closed doors.
Scholz and Milei discussed the economic relations between Germany and Argentina. Together they advocated for the speedy conclusion of the negotiations for the free-trade-zone between the EU and the South American Mercosur Association of States, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. The Mercosur deal has been on the table but not finalized for 25 years.
Such an agreement would create one of the world's largest free trade zones with more than 700 million inhabitants. However, the main setback is an ongoing concern about rainforest protection and the questionable environmental practices in parts of South America.
The Chancellor also expressed support for Argentina's accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Another topic on the agenda was the war between Russia and Ukraine. Both leaders had recently attended the peace summit in Switzerland.
Government spokesman Hebestreit pointed out that the two agreed that “Russia has it in its power to end the war of aggression against Ukraine”.
References:
- - https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/milei-scholz-100.html
- - https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/23/olaf-scholz-welcomes-argentinas-populist-president-javier-milei-to-germany
