Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), General Nadeem Raza, is currently visiting Argentina to discuss bilateral military ties between both countries.
General Raza was welcomed by his counterpart, Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Juan Martin Paleo. Argentine Armed Forces presented a guard of honor to General Raza upon arrival in Buenos Aires.
Among other matters that were discussed during the one-on-one meeting between the two officials, the sale of 18 JF-17 Thunder Block-III multirole fighter jets to the Argentine Air Force was also discussed.
After the meeting, General Raza called upon Argentine Defense Minister. Both explored areas of mutual defense cooperation as well as regional security issues.
General Raza’s visit to Argentina comes over a month after General Martin’s visit to Pakistan in August. The Argentine General visited Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra and inspected JF-17s.
In December 2020, Argentina decided to procure JF-17s after South Korea refused to supply Argentine Air Force FA-50 fighter jets due to diplomatic pressure from the UK, which is Argentina’s geopolitical rival.
In September 2021, the Argentine government officially earmarked $664 million in the country’s 2022 budget for the purchase of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets.