Argentina has submitted a request for the country to become a "global partner" of NATO.

       The country's president Javier Milei has repeatedly said he wants to protect his country's sovereignty claim on the Falkland Islands - while also trying to tie closer links with the West. Indeed, since his election win, Argentina has become much closer to the United States and other western powers.

       However, in January, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron met with the Argentine President and the future of the islands was discussed. According to the Foreign Office: "On the Falkland Islands, the Foreign Secretary and President Milei said they would agree to disagree, and do so politely. The UK position and ongoing support for the Falkland Islanders’ right to self-determination remains unchanged."

       Today, Defense Minister Luis Alfonso Petri submitted the formal request. He said on X: "I met with Deputy Secretary General of NATO Geoana. I transmitted a letter of intent to him, which contains a request from Argentina to become a global partner of this organisation."

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       Romanian Mircea Geoan？ met with 47-year-old Mr Petri in Brussels, saying: “It is a great pleasure to welcome Defence Minister Petri to NATO Headquarters.

       “Argentina plays an important role in Latin America, and I welcome today’s request to explore becoming a NATO partner. NATO works with a range of countries around the world to promote peace and stability. Closer political and practical cooperation could benefit us both.”

       The request from enigmatic Mr Milei's government won't be rubber-stamped unless all 32 members support it. At present, the only South American partner the defensive military alliance has is Colombia.

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       Despite the long-haired president's overtures towards the West, he has not backed off over the Falklands, as the sovereignty of the islands remains politically exercising in Argentina.

       Earlier this week, Ian Shields OBE, a retired RAF officer who spent four months on the Falklands, told Express.co.uk that it is hard to reconcile Mr Milei's drift towards the West with his stance on the islands: "My take is that he is playing two different games."

       However, the military man turned Cambridge academic noted that Mr Milei's rhetoric over what he would call Las Malvinas is aimed at a domestic audience.

       He said that amping up emotions over the Falklands "plays well with a nationalist, right-wing agenda, and also distracts the people from domestic economic issues".