The President of Argentina, Javier Milei on Friday evening sent letters to BRICS leaders to formalize his decision to reject an invitation to join the grouping of major emerging economies, Africa Today News, New York reports.
The bloc which is currently made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa had in August announced it was admitting six new members in a bid to counter the Western-led global order.
The membership of Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates was due to take effect from January 1, 2024.
The letters signed by Milei and published by several media houses said Argentina’s membership was ‘not considered appropriate at this time.’
The libertarian outsider Milei took office this month after his resounding defeat of Argentina’s traditional political parties, and he had vowed on the campaign trail not to join BRICS.
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In his letters, he said his foreign policy ‘differs in many aspects from that of the previous government. In this sense, some decisions made by the previous administration will be reviewed.’
During his election campaign, Milei said ‘our geopolitical alignment is with the United States and Israel. We are not going to ally with communists.’
Despite vowing to cut ties with major trading partners China and Brazil, he has taken a more conciliatory tone since coming to office.
In another report, Russia has reopened its embassy in Burkina Faso after a gap of nearly 32 years, the West African nation’s government and a Russian diplomat has confirmed.
Africa Today News, New York reports that the mission was closed in 1992. The Russian ambassador to Ivory Coast, Alexei Saltykov, revealed on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would name the new envoy.
The Burkinabe foreign ministry confirmed in a statement that ‘Russia formally reopened its embassy this Thursday in Ouagadougou.’