Argentina's Milei Announces Ex-Central Bank Chief As New Economy Minister

Argentina's president-elect, Javier Milei, announced Wednesday that former Central Bank chief Luis Caputo will be appointed the economy minister.

Caputo had served as the minister of economy from 2017 to 2018 and the president of the Central Bank of Argentina in 2018.

The announcement came after Milei returned from a two-day trip to the United States, and appeared for a radio interview, during which he said, "Yes, the economy minister is Luis Caputo," AP News reported.

Argentina is currently going through high inflation, with the country hitting a 143% rate annually. Since Milei won the elections, the values of stocks and bonds increased along with that of peso, the local currency.

Previously, the president-elect said he would hold the announcement of the new economy minister until his inauguration, which will be held on Dec. 10.

Caputo's appointment as the economy minister was not surprising as he had been part of Milei's team that recently visited Washington to meet Joe Biden's top officials. The meeting, which was held Tuesday at the White House, was "positive" as per White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Milei's office issued a statement to reveal the details of the meeting, noting that the president-elect expressed "his views on the international geopolitical agenda aligned with the West and his commitment to the values of freedom."

Sullivan, who spoke on behalf of the Biden-administration, "conveyed the willingness of the United States to cooperate in the transition of the incoming Argentine government, given the challenging political, economic and social circumstances that the country is facing."

The U.S. also issued a statement, revealing that the National Security Adviser and Argentina's president-elect discussed the importance of continuing to build on the strong relationship between both countries.

The U.S. and Argentina should continue to work on "economic issues and on shared priorities such as investing in technology and clean energy, advocating for human rights, and standing up for democracies around the world."

"National Security Adviser Sullivan congratulated President-elect Milei on his election victory and committed to continued close cooperation between our two countries," the statement concluded.