BRUSSELS, April 18 () –
The Government of Argentina has presented this Thursday a formal request to NATO to be a “global partner” of the Atlantic Alliance, a figure similar to that already held by other countries such as Colombia, Australia, Japan or South Korea.
The Argentine Minister of Defense, Luis Petri, has hand-delivered the request to the Secretary General of NATO, Mircea Geoana, as he has explained on social networks. “We will continue working to recover links that allow us to modernize and train our forces to NATO standards,” Petri highlighted.
Partner status allows countries to access certain NATO programs and even participate in its operations, while the Alliance thus expands its focus beyond the Euro-Atlantic region.
The Argentine president, Javier Milei, who canceled his European tour after Iran's attack on Israel on Saturday, has opted to intensify defense policy. Petri has arrived in Brussels after a stop in Denmark – where Milei was initially going to go – and where he signed the contract for the acquisition of 24 F-16 fighters.
“Argentina, welcome to the F-16 family,” the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Brian A. Nichols, celebrated on Wednesday, after what he described as a “significant step to modernize the capabilities of “Argentine defense and deepen ties with NATO.”
