Argentina is stepping up preparations for the upcoming summit of the Group of 20, which will convene in Buenos Aires on Nov. 30.
The upcoming meet will be the first G-20 summit to be hosted in South America, and Argentina has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in security for the event, including purchasing state-of-the-art Israeli technology.
The Group of 20 is an international forum of governments and central banks chiefs from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Founded in 1999, the G-20 aims to shape policy pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.
Argentine President Mauricio Macri assumed the one-year rotating G-20 presidency on Nov. 30 in an official ceremony at the Kirchner Cultural Center in Buenos Aires.
According to reports in Argentine media, Buenos Aires has purchased four advanced Shaldag class patrol boats from Israel for $80 million and has spent an additional $5.5 million on cyber defense software, as well as some $2.75 million on a radar system that jams drone signals.
The patrol boats were delivered to Argentina in April and July this year and are fully operational. They will join other Argentine navy vessels in patrolling Buenos Aires' shores during the summit.
According to a government statement, the cyber defense software purchased from Israel has both defensive and offensive capabilities, as well as intelligence-gathering features, especially helpful in monitoring online and social media chatter.
