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(Sputnik) Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani expressed his support for Buenos Aires' decision not to join the BRICS countries in a telephone conversation with Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino, the Italian Foreign Ministry reported on Monday.
“The Deputy Prime Minister praised the first steps of the new Argentine leadership and paid particular attention to the decisions to restart the accession process to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and to suspend parallel accession to the BRICS group of countries,” the ministry said in a statement on the website.
These measures reflect Argentina's decision to “adhere to the liberal and democratic value system of the Western world,” the ministry quoted Tajani as saying in the statement.
Tajani congratulated Mondino on her appointment and asked her to convey her best wishes to President Javier Milei and the new Argentine government, the statement said.
CONTINUED AFTER RECOMMENDATIONS
Founded in 2009, BRICS is a group that brings together the world's largest developing countries, currently including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. BRICS+, a company present in 186 countries, aims to promote cooperation between member states and other countries.
In August, the 15th highlevel BRICS summit in Johannesburg invited Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to join the bloc. Your full membership is expected to take effect on January 1, 2024.
As a presidential candidate, the now elected Argentine President Milei has repeatedly spoken out against Argentina's membership in the BRICS. After his victory on November 19, Mondino told Sputnik that the country would not join the union on January 1.