Argentine Chinese Online Buenos Aires, June 7th. Argentine President Javier Milei held his first formal meeting with the new Pope León XIV in the Vatican on Saturday local time. The talks cover important issues of common concern to both sides, including social and economic development trends, anti-poverty cooperation, and promoting social cohesion.
According to official Vatican news, the two sides also had in-depth exchanges on current regional and international socio-political issues, especially paying attention to the ongoing international conflicts, and stressing the urgent need for the international community to take positive commitments to promote peace.
At 8:50 am (3:50 Argentina time), President Mile arrived at the courtyard of Santa Marso and was greeted by Leonardo Sapienza, the parent of the Vatican Church. Accompanying the visit were Karina Milei, the president's sister and secretary-general of the Presidential Palace, Gerardo Werthein, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni and ambassador to the Vatican, Luis Beltramino. During the meeting, President Mile presented two books to the Pope by Jesús Huerta de Soto, a Spanish extreme liberal economist and representative of anarchic capitalist thought. President Mile has always regarded him as a mentor of economic thought, and this gift also shows his own admiration for liberal economic theory.
The meeting was held in the library of the Vatican Pope's apartment, and the two sides described the talks as "friendly atmosphere". It is worth mentioning that this is also the first official institutional exchange between the new Leon XIV, who has a US and Peruvian nationality background, was elected as the Pope of the Vatican and the President of Argentina.
Leon XIV was elected as Pope after the death of Pope Francis, the first Hispanic pope in history, who died in April this year. Mile went to the Vatican on April 26 to attend Pope Francis' funeral, but failed to attend the Mass of Leon XIV, which was attended by Foreign Minister Welthein and Minister of Human Capital Sandra Petovelo on behalf of Argentina.
At the meeting, Pope Leon XIV formally expressed his intention to visit Argentina to President Mile. The news was later confirmed on social media by Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni, saying the pope had expressed his decision to visit Argentina to the president during the talks, but the date and itinerary have not been disclosed yet. This announcement will undoubtedly become the focus of attention from all walks of life in Argentine society, and many Argentine people long-term hope that the new pope can visit their motherland.
After the meeting ended in the Vatican, President Miroslaw Wachowski, Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Vatican Deputy Secretary-General for Foreign Relations. During the talks, the two sides reiterated their long-term friendly relations between the two countries and expressed their common desire to further deepen bilateral cooperation.
President Mile will start a diplomatic journey between Europe and the Middle East in the future, planning to visit Spain, France and Israel to further promote exchanges and cooperation between Argentina and the international community.
The first formal meeting between President Mile and the Pope not only reflects Argentina's active role in the international community, but also shows the current Argentine government's high attention to promoting national economic transformation, social solidarity and diplomatic multilateral cooperation. Especially in the context of global multipolarization and complex geopolitical situation, Argentina has used the high-level diplomacy of the head of state to seek more opportunities and development space for the country to win unanimous attention from the Chinese and foreign industries.
Source: Argentine Media
