In a post on X, Argentina’s Defense Minister, Luis Petri stated that Argentina wants to join NATO and has submitted a letter of intent, aligning with President Milei’s foreign policy goal of forging stronger ties with Western nations.

Argentina has submitted a letter of intent to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a “global partner,” Defense Minister Luis Petri said Thursday morning in a post on X.

“We will continue working to recover ties that allow us to improve and train our [military] forces following NATO standards,” Petri said in a statement. His message included a photo of his meeting in Brussels with NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana.

Petri visited Belgium after completing the purchase of 24 F-16 fighter planes from Denmark. The jets, which cost 2.1 billion kroner (about $300 million), were built in the United States. No official date has been set for their transfer.

NATO is an alliance of North American and European nations, both militarily and politically. As of right now, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and Germany are among its 32 full members. Members are “committed to protecting each other from any threat,” according to the website.

Since 1998, Argentina has maintained strategic ties with the U.S. Armed Forces while not being a full member of NATO, hence the term “major non-NATO ally.” The designation of “global partner” or “partner across the globe” is given to governments who wish to work with NATO but are unable to become full members because of treaty provisions that only allow European countries to be invited.

Colombia is the only nation in Latin America to hold the rank of global partner for NATO at this time. Iraq, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, and Pakistan are the other nations. The absence of military intervention requirements distinguishes nations in the global partner position from those in the ally status.

The request from Argentina is in line with President Milei’s foreign policy goal of forging stronger ties with Western nations. Meeting with General Laura Richardson of the US Southern Command in Ushuaia at the beginning of April, Milei pledged to strengthen its “strategic alliance” with the US to better protect Argentina’s sovereignty.