Fernandez, who took over the presidency in December, refused to pay the last installment of the $ 13 billion loan.
For her part, Georgieva said in a statement: “Minister Guzmán and I have had a fruitful exchange of views on the challenges facing the country and the way forward to ensure more sustainable and inclusive growth for Argentina.”
She added: “I commended the efforts made so far, under the leadership of (…) Fernandez, to develop a set of policies that stabilize the economy and reduce poverty.”
Georgieva noted that she discussed with Guzmán plans to “secure a sustainable and systematic solution” to the debt situation in his country, and welcomed the commitment of Argentina “to deepen our engagement, including through advice under Article IV, and to take steps towards a program supported by the Fund in the future.”
“We will continue to discuss support for the next steps,” Georgieva said.
The Argentine Ministry of Economy issued a similar statement regarding entering into talks with the International Monetary Fund. A ministry spokesman told France Presse that negotiations will continue on Monday, when Guzmán meets with IMF experts in Washington.
On Friday, Argentina’s state statistical institute stated that the country’s economy contracted 2.1 percent in 2019.
Argentina has been in recession since mid-2018, with high rates of poverty and unemployment, with inflation exceeding 50 percent.
The IMF said earlier that Argentina’s ability to service its debt had deteriorated significantly compared to the last analysis conducted by the Fund in July 2019, when there was potential to control the debt.
Since then, the peso’s value has fallen more than 40 percent, cash reserves have declined by about $ 20 billion, and gross domestic product has shrunk more than expected.
Argentina is striving to avoid a similar fate to what happened in 2001, when it defaulted on $ 100 billion and became an outcast in international financial markets.
Argentina is currently under a debt of $ 311 billion, more than 90 percent of its gross domestic product.
–
(AFP)
–
