Argentina in the G20: a guide for Model G20 delegates

Argentina is one of the G20's 19 member countries, which sit alongside the European Union and the African Union. In 2018 it held the first G20 presidency in South America. Under President Javier Milei it has stayed at the table while openly disagreeing with recent leaders' declarations in whole or in part. This guide reflects official sources as of 13 October 2026; most Argentine quotations are translated from Spanish.

At a glance

• G20 host (2018): the first G20 summit in South America, held in Buenos Aires from 30 November to 1 December 2018.
• President (2023): Javier Milei, who won the run-off of 19 November 2023.
• Key officials (2026): Chief of Cabinet Diego Santilli (sworn in on 30 June 2026), Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno and G20 Sherpa Federico Pinedo.
• Size (2025): about 45.9 million people and a GDP of US$683.1 billion (World Bank estimates).
• IMF programme (2025): roughly US$21 billion, approved on 11 April 2025.
• Groupings: founding member of MERCOSUR (1991); OECD accession talks opened (2022); declined to join BRICS (December 2023).

Argentina's G20 story

Argentina's presidency began on 1 December 2017 under President Macri, with the theme "Building consensus for fair and sustainable development" and a promise to act "in the spirit of an honest broker". The Buenos Aires declaration focused on "the future of work, infrastructure for development, a sustainable food future and a gender mainstreaming strategy across the G20 agenda", and supported "the necessary reform of the WTO to improve its functioning."

Under Milei the tone changed. At the Rio de Janeiro summit in November 2024, for the first time since joining, Argentina signed the leaders' declaration while "partly dissociating itself from all content linked to the 2030 Agenda", according to the Argentine President's Office in Communiqué No. 66. Points it did not accept included limits on freedom of expression on social networks and "especially the notion that more state intervention is the way to fight hunger". The Rio declaration itself does not mention Argentina.

At Johannesburg on 22 November 2025, Foreign Minister Quirno represented Milei. Argentina said that, although not accompanying the circulated text, it "remains fully committed to the spirit of cooperation that has defined the G20 since its creation". The Foreign Ministry gave no reason; Reuters reported that Quirno was concerned about how the document referred to geopolitical issues. Argentina takes part in the 2026 meetings, and no future Argentine presidency has been announced.

What Argentina wants from the G20

• Growth and stability. At Johannesburg, Argentina called economic growth "the fundamental base for creating jobs, investment and economic resilience", within a framework of "stability and predictability".
• Private investment over state programmes. In Rio, Milei argued that "the only thing that works to lift billions out of poverty is free-enterprise capitalism". That is the Argentine government's argument; the Rio declaration itself launched the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.
• Energy and critical minerals. At the UN on 23 September 2026, Milei said "Vaca Muerta is a historic opportunity" and told the world's energy sector: "Come. Invest. Develop it." Argentina attended the G20's Houston energy ministerial, whose consensus outcomes included a Critical Minerals Statement, according to the White House.
• Light-touch AI rules. In the same speech Milei offered "a commitment not to regulate pre-emptively".
• Trade rules. Its February 2026 agreement with the US, which takes effect only after both sides complete their legal procedures, would commit Argentina to ban imports made with forced labour and to back a permanent WTO moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions.
• Sovereignty in global governance. In Rio, Milei said that what rules the international community today "is a scheme of imposition", adding: "if it is about restricting freedom of opinion, do not count on us". Argentina's exit from the WHO took effect on 17 March 2026, according to Quirno.

On the Paris Agreement, Climate Action Tracker, an independent analysis site, says Argentina "will remain in the Agreement" but "has yet to submit its 2035 NDC". That is its assessment; we found no 2026 government text on the subject.

Alliances and groupings

The United States. Milei told the UN: "we aligned ourselves without ambiguity with the West, with the United States and Israel". In October 2025 the US Treasury signed a US$20.0 billion swap agreement with Argentina's central bank; US$2.5 billion was drawn and fully repaid in December 2025. A trade agreement signed on 5 February 2026 takes effect only after both sides complete their legal procedures. One clause says Argentina, "when appropriate, shall adopt a measure with similar effect" to US trade measures taken to protect US economic or national security. Supporters see this as partnership; others may ask whether it limits Argentina's own trade policy.

MERCOSUR. Argentina founded MERCOSUR with Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay under the 1991 Treaty of Asunción. The EU-MERCOSUR agreements were signed on 17 January 2026, but in March 2026 the Council of the EU said they still needed the European Parliament's consent.

The OECD and BRICS. Argentina is an OECD accession candidate, not yet a member, and submitted its Initial Memorandum on 11 November 2025. It was due to join BRICS on 1 January 2024 but declined.

Argentina and India

Relations became a Strategic Partnership in February 2019. India's Ministry of External Affairs says trade peaked at USD 6.4 billion in 2022, fell to USD 3.9 billion in 2023 after a severe drought, and rose to USD 5.2 billion in 2024. It calls Argentina "one of the primary suppliers of edible oils, especially soybean oil, to India". In India's "first ever acquisition of lithium resources abroad", the state-owned KABIL agreed on 15 January 2024 to lease five lithium blocks from a Catamarca provincial company.

Prime Minister Modi met Milei in Buenos Aires on 5 July 2025, "the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Argentina after a gap of 57 years". India's readout says they discussed expanding the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement and "called for giving greater voice to the concerns of the Global South". Milei's 2026 UN speech, though, stressed alignment with the West.

Recent developments

• 21 May 2026: the IMF completed its second review, with total disbursements of about US$15.8 billion; it noted a missed reserves target, though most key targets were met.
• 23 September 2026: Milei told the UN General Assembly that its founding "sacred pact has in fact been broken".
• 30 September to 1 October 2026: at the Milwaukee trade ministerial, a statement on forced labour did not reach consensus; the US chair named Argentina and Mexico as its supporters.
• Next: the Miami leaders' summit is scheduled for 14 to 15 December 2026.

Representing Argentina at a Model G20

• Play the current government. Unless told otherwise, represent the Milei government, not the Macri team of 2018.
• Likely allies. The US presidency on deregulation, energy and innovation; Mexico on forced labour; MERCOSUR partners and the EU on trade; India on lithium and edible oils.
• Likely red lines. Text that expands state intervention against hunger, limits online speech, lets global institutions override national decisions or regulates AI pre-emptively.
• Dissent without blocking. Use Argentina's own methods: sign with stated reservations "without obstructing" others (Rio), or decline a text while staying committed to cooperation (Johannesburg). Propose alternative wording first.
• Stay diplomatic. Do not copy the insulting language of Milei's UN speech. Say instead that the multilateral system should return to voluntary cooperation among equals.
• Quote primary texts. The 2018 Buenos Aires Leaders' Declaration, Communiqué No. 66 (2024), the Foreign Ministry's Johannesburg statement (2025), Milei's UN speech (2026) and IMF Press Release 26/165 (2026).

What to do next

Start with how to write a Model G20 position paper, then read how a G20 leaders' declaration is agreed. For background, see the G20 Sherpa Track and Finance Track explained and the 2026 G20 presidency explained.

Model G20 is One Young India's simulation of the G20 summit for students, held as a three-day residential summit at FLAME University.