MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei and Fujimori meet in Lima and agree to strengthen economic and security cooperation

Argentine President Javier Milei met on Tuesday in Lima with Peru's President Keiko Fujimori in a bilateral encounter held at the Torre Tagle Palace, headquarters of Peru's foreign ministry, hours before the handover ceremony. It was the first official contact between the two leaders.

According to Peru's Foreign Ministry, the meeting highlighted “the deep historical ties between the two countries,” as well as the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation in areas it described as strategic: the economy, security, and science, technology and innovation. Milei was accompanied by the general secretary of the presidency, Karina Milei, and Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno; Peru's Foreign Minister Carlos Espá took part on the host side.

The Argentine leader's trip came amid the diplomatic crisis with Brazil, triggered by his participation on Saturday in the event formalizing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro's presidential candidacy in São Paulo. The Brazilian government recalled its ambassador in Buenos Aires for consultations and summoned Argentina's representative in Brasília for explanations.

Within the Argentine president's circle, the possibility has been raised of building a regional grouping bringing together the region's right-wing governments, following the electoral victories of Fujimori in Peru and Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia, who takes office on August 7. An official source cited by the Argentine press compared that aspiration to a possible revival of the Lima Group, though no formal initiative has been announced. During his visit to Brazil, Milei had referred to what he called a “blue wave” across the continent.

Fujimori's inauguration was also attended by the presidents of Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi; Chile, José Antonio Kast; Paraguay, Santiago Peña; Bolivia, Rodrigo Paz; Ecuador, Daniel Noboa; Panama, José Raúl Mulino; and Honduras, Nasry Asfura, along with Spain's King Felipe VI and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela did not send high-level representation.

The previous night, the then president-elect held a private dinner at the Larco Museum with regional leaders and former presidents, according to the Argentine press. Attendees included the president of Spain's Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the Ecuadorian president, and former presidents Vicente Fox of Mexico and Eduardo Frei of Chile.

Fujimori assumed Peru's presidency for the 2026-2031 term after winning in June by fewer than 50,000 votes over left-wing candidate Roberto Sánchez. In her address to Congress she announced that the armed forces will temporarily assume internal control during states of emergency to confront organized crime, and set citizen security and preparation for the El Niño phenomenon as priorities.