On Wednesday, the Argentine government officially requested the start of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund over a new financial aid program, as the South American country seeks to recover from a burdensome debt crisis.
In a letter to Kristalina Georgieva, Executive Director of the IMF, Argentine Economy Minister Martin Guzman and Central Bank President Miguel Engel requested formal talks leading to a new program to replace a $ 57 billion conditional loan agreement reached by the two sides in 2018.
“We are determined to resume the process of pursuing a coherent fiscal track, should the effects of the pandemic disappear,” the message said.
The $ 57 billion financing program, the largest in the history of the IMF, was reached under the administration of former Argentine President Mauricio Macri.
The letter detailed the endeavors of the government of incumbent President Alberto Fernandez to prevent further declines in production and employment, push down inflation and restore credit sustainability.
Guzman said in a tweet that a new IMF program that includes rescheduling maturities of debts “is a necessary step to solve the economic crisis that has dominated the country in recent years.”
Argentina reached earlier this month a preliminary agreement with its creditors to restructure foreign debts worth about $ 65 billion … and bondholders have a deadline until August 28 to officially accept the offer, although groups of major creditors have expressed support for the revised proposal.
In a separate statement, the government said Fernandez told Georgieva during a phone call that a new deal should focus on economic recovery and solving pressing social problems.
For her part, Georgieva said in a statement that Argentina had requested a new arrangement with the IMF and that she had had a “very positive and constructive” conversation with Fernandez.
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