MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spain appoints new ambassador to Buenos Aires

Joaquín María de Arístegui Laborde has until now headed Spain's mission in Bogotá, Colombia

The Spanish Government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will be appointing Joaquín María de Arístegui Laborde as the new Ambassador to Buenos Aires, thus restoring the full strength of its diplomatic mission in the Argentine capital following rifts with President Javier Milei earlier this year.

In Madrid, Foreign Ministry sources said de Arístegui's selection had been agreed upon at a Council of Ministers on Tuesday. The nominee stems from a family with a long diplomatic tradition and has until now been serving at Spain's mission in Bogotá, Colombia. After this announcement, both governments said in a joint statement that Spain and Argentina remained “brotherly peoples, united by deep human and social ties.”

The document also insisted that ties between the two executives “must match the intensity of the ties that unite our peoples and societies” and, in this sense, they are committed to strengthening relations “to reach the highest level of trust and mutual respect in political and institutional terms.”

In May, Milei said Sánchez's wife was “corrupt” during an appearance at a rally of the opposition party VOX, after which insisted in vain that he should recant. Moreover, Milei called Sánchez a “coward” and claimed that he was the offended party after Transport Minister Óscar Puente suggested that the Libertarian leader was on “substances” during a speech.

Spain is the second largest investor in Argentina, after the United States, with a stock of more than € 15 billion, according to the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX).