“The meeting was positive”: the government’s meeting with the IMF

The government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) began meetings in Buenos Aires on Monday with the aim of reviving the agreement for the refinancing of the $45 billion loan that the country took with that multilateral credit organization. The Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, and the Chief of Staff of the Nation, Nicolás Posse, met for an hour and a half with IMF emissaries in the offices of the Casa Rosada. The meeting was positive, the technical teams will continue working in the coming days with the intention of issuing a statement with the conclusions of the visit,” they said on behalf of the Government. Participants included Luis Cubeddu, Deputy Director of the Western Hemisphere Department; Ashvin Ahuja, Chief of Mission; Ben Kelmanson, IMF Representative in Argentina, and Nicolás Posse and Luis Caputo, representing our country. The national government’s intention is to negotiate the conditions and revive the extended facilities agreement, which has virtually collapsed due to non-compliance. In this regard, according to sources in the Ministry of Economy, the meetings will continue until Wednesday, when the IMF emissaries are expected to officially close their visit to the country. Among the critical issues to be addressed are the accumulation of reserves and the management of the exchange rate, since the Central Bank’s net reserves closed 2023 with a negative balance, thus failing to meet the goals established in a previous agreement. The Argentine government faces challenges such as fiscal deficit and monetary issuance, and hopes to achieve IMF approval for the pending disbursement, in addition to facing imminent maturities with the IMF that amount to $7.7 billion for this year.

Original source in Spanish