Sixteen years after the two countries went to war over the Falkland Islands, the university is to sign a "memorandum of understanding" with the Argentine government during the official visit of President Carlos Menem to the UK.

This will give the go-ahead to the LSE Argentine Research Programme, which aims to encourage UK-based research on Argentina and promote a greater understanding of the country's history, politics and culture.

The Argentine Government will contribute £500,000 to the research programme over the next five years.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guido di Tella, will officially sign the memorandum on Friday, 30 October at the British Library in London. President Menem will witness the event.

The Argentine Government is promoting different research in a small number of UK universities, including LSE, Oxford and Warwick.

Last year there were 23 Argentine students at LSE, with the majority studying Masters degrees.