MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei opens Argentina Week at the OECD and will meet Macron at the Élysée

Friday will feature panels on energy and critical minerals, technology, artificial intelligence, international trade and fisheries. Milei will also receive an award from the Paris Economic Forum.

Argentine President Javier Milei will lead Argentina Week in Paris from Wednesday, a gathering aimed at attracting European investment, with its main day on Thursday at the headquarters of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ending that evening with a private meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace.

The schedule released by the Argentine presidency opens on Wednesday with a welcome reception at the embassy. On Thursday, at the Château de la Muette, Milei will deliver the keynote address under the theme “Forces driving Argentina's growth: milestones and investment opportunities”, following a panel on the country's macroeconomic transformation led by Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Central Bank Governor Santiago Bausili. He will then meet provincial leaders and a group of business executives. The meeting with Macron is scheduled for 6:50 p.m., followed at 8 p.m. by a reception hosted by the French president for the delegation. The two leaders met in Paris, Buenos Aires and Nice between 2024 and 2025.

Friday will feature panels on energy and critical minerals, technology, artificial intelligence, international trade and fisheries. Milei will also receive an award from the Paris Economic Forum.

Twelve governors are travelling — from Neuquén, Mendoza, Corrientes, Chubut, Río Negro, Santa Cruz, Salta, Jujuy, San Juan, Catamarca, Entre Ríos and Chaco — along with Buenos Aires city head of government Jorge Macri. Santa Fe's Maximiliano Pullaro is not attending. The national delegation includes Presidential General Secretary Karina Milei, Cabinet Chief Diego Santilli, Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno and ministers Federico Sturzenegger, Mario Lugones and Juan Bautista Mahiques.

Participants include TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné; ENI's Claudio Descalzi; Glencore's Gary Nagle; Santander's Héctor Grisi; Louis Dreyfus Company chair Margarita Louis-Dreyfus; YPF's Horacio Marín; and International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol. Vaca Muerta, liquefied natural gas, lithium and mining are at the centre of Argentina's pitch.

Before the trip, Milei told the weekly Le Point that French investors were welcome “to come and fill their pockets in Argentina” and said his government “sanctifies property rights and the sanctity of contracts”. In a separate interview with the channel LCI, he said “Europe is sinking”.

The trip comes as financial indicators deteriorate: country risk rose above 640 points on Monday, its highest level of the year, in the same week the president questioned official activity and poverty statistics.