By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - "Good progre
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) – “Good progress” has been made in components of a brand new program between the Worldwide Financial Fund and Argentina, IMF officers mentioned in an announcement on Friday.
An IMF workforce visited Argentina to start discussions on repackaging some $45 billion the South American nation owes the Fund.
“Good progress has been made in defining the preliminary parts of such a program, and additional discussions are anticipated to proceed just about between the groups over the approaching weeks,” Julie Kozack, deputy director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Division, and Luis Cubeddu, mission chief for Argentina, mentioned in an announcement.
Argentina is on monitor for a 12% financial contraction this yr partly because of measures taken to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Dwindling FX reserves have dragged its foreign money 25% decrease versus the greenback to date this yr, however within the black promote it reaches simply half its official worth.
The IMF workforce “welcomed the authorities’ intention to request an Prolonged Fund Facility (EFF) association, and to underpin it with a broad political and social consensus,” mentioned the officers.
The EFF is a longer-term program that usually requires extra financial reforms than a standby settlement, which was Argentina’s earlier.
Earlier on Friday, Finance Minister Martin Guzman requested different members of the Group of 20 for his or her backing in Argentina’s IMF negotiations.
He mentioned below a brand new program Argentina must guarantee it has “macroeconomic insurance policies to account for the fact the nation is dealing with” that embrace methods to deal with “social imbalances.”
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; further reporting by Aislinn Laing; enhancing by Diane Craft and Grant McCool)
(([email protected];; +1 (332) 219-1131;; Reuters Messaging: http://www.twitter.com/rodrigocampos))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the writer and don’t essentially replicate these of Nasdaq, Inc.