President Javier Milei met with Giorgia Meloni in Rome, Italy

Argentine President Javier Milei arrived at Palazzo Chigi and met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who welcomed him with honors. The meeting was accompanied by dinner between the two leaders to strengthen ties.

After the meeting, both leaders oversaw the signing of an agreement between YPF and the Italian company Eni, to make Argentina the fifth-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world. Horacio Marín, president of YPF, and Eni's CEO, Claudio Descalzi, were responsible for signing the agreement.

With this new alliance, the plan is to install in the province of Río Negro two floating liquefaction units with a capacity of 6 million tons per year (MTPA) each.

Javier Milei and the Italian prime minister not only share a close personal relationship but also a strong ideological alignment. Both leaders view the international agenda with a similar perspective and are committed to building a geopolitical alliance that strengthens the historic ties between Argentina and Italy.

This foundation of shared views, consolidated throughout the meetings they have held in cities such as Buenos Aires, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Apulia, and Washington, was key to finalizing the strategic agreement between YPF and the Italian energy company Eni.

Meloni finds in Milei a close ally in Latin America, while the Argentine president does the same with the Italian leader on the European stage. In addition, the fact that both leaders have extended terms in office allows them to develop medium- and long-term diplomatic plans with greater stability.

What's next on Milei's agenda

In the early hours of this Friday, Argentina time, President Javier Milei and his delegation will arrive at the Vatican for an official meeting with Pope Leo XVI.

If there are no changes to the planned protocol, the meeting will begin with a private meeting between Milei and the Supreme Pontiff. Afterwards, Karina Milei, Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein, and presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni will join for a more relaxed conversation, during which the official photographs will be taken and the protocol gifts will be exchanged.

The audience will have an open agenda. The Argentine leader plans to present the guidelines of his government program and formally invite the Pope to visit Argentina. Meanwhile, Leo XVI is closely following the economic situation in Latin America, the problem of illegal immigration, and the current conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.

Once the meeting at the Vatican is over, Milei and his delegation will depart for Madrid to participate in the Economic Forum, which will be the first stop in the Spanish capital—to which he will return on June 12. From there, the head of state will make a brief trip to Nice for a bilateral meeting with the president of France, Emmanuel Macron.