Trump meets Argentina's Milei ahead of conservative summit

Javier Milei praised president-elect Trump at a gala at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday

Donald Trump has said it was an "honour" to meet Argentina’s President Javier Milei in Florida ahead of a conservative investment summit.

The right-wing leader is the first foreign leader to meet Trump since his US presidential election victory on 5 November.

At a gala at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort on Thursday, Milei congratulated the president-elect and said it proved “that the forces of heaven [were] on our side”.

Milei is expected to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Investor Summit on Friday.

On the eve of the summit, the BBC's US partner CBS reported that an anonymous source confirmed the two leaders had met.

Addressing the America First Policy Institute gala that evening, the Argentine leader said "the winds of freedom [were] blowing much stronger” since Trump’s victory.

Speaking in English and Spanish, the self-described "anarcho-capitalist" criticised unfair tax systems that caused "the redistribution of wealth at gunpoint".

He also praised Elon Musk, the billionaire businessman who will run Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency, claiming his social media site X was helping to “save humanity”.

Argentina's president first met Trump at the annual CPAC in February - where he rushed to Trump backstage, shouting "president!", and gave him a hug before they posed for pictures.

Following Milei's speech on Thursday, Trump said it was an “honour” to welcome him to Mar-a-Lago – calling him “a MAGA person”.

“The job you've done is incredible.

"Make Argentina Great Again... he’s doing that.”

Argentine media previously reported that Milei would be seeking a free trade agreement with the United States once Trump took office.

"The elected [Trump] government feels much more comfortable working with me than with other governments, and that has commercial and financial implications," Milei said, according to La Nación.

Tickets to the CPAC Investor Summit, an event in addition to the annual conference, cost up to $25,000 (£19,350).

CPAC claims to be the biggest annual gathering of conservatives in the US and describes itself as the oldest conservative grassroots organisation in the country - with a mission to "preserve and protect the values of life, liberty, and property for every American".

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and former Prime Minister Liz Truss were among the speakers at the annual CPAC in February.

The Republican party won full control of the US government in the election earlier this month - something last achieved at the start of Trump's first term in 2017.