President Javier Milei has arrived in Rome, where he attended the signing of an investment commitment contract between the Argentine state-owned energy company YPF and the Italian multinational ENI. His Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni also attended the event, the first of a ten-day trip that will include stops in France, Spain, and Israel.

Friday’s agreement between YPF and ENI involves a joint partnership. The Italian company will study the development of the third phase of the Argentina LNG (liquefied natural gas) project, covering gas production in Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas field, transportation, liquefaction, and export. This is a preliminary agreement to set the foundation for the final investment decision, which is scheduled to take place before the end of the year. 

The initiative involves the installation of two ships two floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers in Río Negro province, each with a 6 million tonne per annum (MTPA) capacity. It is expected to result in exports exceeding US$100 billion for Argentina over the next 20 years, according to an official communiqué. 

Argentina LNG is expected to turn the country into the fifth-largest global producer of LNG, with a projected export volume of US$15 billion annually by 2030. 

In the evening, Milei and Meloni shared a private dinner. Before that, they ratified the “2025-2030 Italy-Argentina Action Plan,” which aims to strengthen the bilateral relationship between both countries in areas such as political dialogue, defense, trade, investment, space, culture, security, and social policies, among others. 

They also spoke about the relationship between the European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc and the Ukraine-Russia war, according to a communiqué by the President’s Office. 

Milei and Meloni have ideological affinities and have met multiple times before.

The rest of the trip

Milei will meet Pope Leo XIV on Saturday morning before flying to Madrid at 1 p.m. Argentine time. He is not scheduled to meet any Spanish government representatives. Last year, Milei accused Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s wife of being corrupt, prompting the countries to recall their ambassadors, and later accused Sánchez of using the state’s power to “trample on the Spanish people.” 

The countries appointed new ambassadors earlier this month.

Instead, Milei will participate in the Madrid Economic Forum and then depart for Nice, France. On Monday, he will meet with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.

That day, Milei will depart on a flight to Tel Aviv, Israel. In two separate meetings scheduled for Tuesday 10, Milei will meet Israel’s president and prime minister, Isaac Herzog and Benjamin Netanyahu. He will then visit the Wailing Wall. 

Milei has sided with Netanyahu in Israel’s ongoing attack on the Gaza Strip, which to date has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The attack followed Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, when the Palestinian militant group killed 1,200 and kidnapped 251 others.

On Wednesday 11, Milei will visit the Holy Sepulcher, meet relatives of people kidnapped by Hamas, and be given the official medal for the Genesis Prize, commonly referred to as the Jewish Nobel Prize. Israel granted him the award in January for his unwavering support of Israel during the conflict in Gaza. 

On Thursday 12, he will sign a “Memorandum of Understanding for Democracy and Freedom” with his Israeli counterpart and announce the start of direct flights between Buenos Aires and Tel Aviv. Then, he will visit the Wailing Wall once more with the Israeli Prime Minister, before returning to Madrid for three days to receive an award and meet with businesspeople.

He is set to return to Argentina on Saturday, June 14.