BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) 鈥 Argentina will not be joining the BRICS bloc of developing economies next year as scheduled, a senior official in President-elect Javier Milei鈥檚 team said Thursday.
鈥淲e will not join the BRICS,鈥 Diana Mondino, who Milei picked as foreign minister once he is sworn into office on Dec. 10, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The move appears to be a preview of the that will be implemented in Argentina once .
Milei, a libertarian, harshly criticized China while on the campaign trail and threatened to break diplomatic relations with the country ,saying in that 鈥淚 am not going to do business with any communist."
Although he has toned down that rhetoric since winning the Nov. 19 election, Mile has also criticized the leftist government of .
During the campaign, Milei, an admirer of former President Donald Trump, repeatedly said that if he were to win 鈥渕y allies would be the United States and Israel.鈥
Mondino had previously downplayed the importance of BRICS.
BRICS 鈥渋s more related to a political alignment than to advantages that could exist for trade between countries,鈥 she said in an interview two weeks ago. 鈥淲e already have diplomatic and trade relations with most of them.鈥
Argentina was among to join the bloc made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to make an 11-nation bloc. Argentina was set to join Jan. 1, 2024.
At the time, President Alberto Fern谩ndez celebrated the invitation, saying it would help Argentina reach new markets.
The bloc was formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2009 and added South Africa in 2010.
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