He Government announced tonight that the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank will disburse u$s8,800 million to Argentina. The announcement came in the middle of the Economy Minister’s tour, Luis Caputo, by USA.
“In the framework of the trip of the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, to the USA to participate in the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, financing was announced for Argentina for 8.8 billion dollars,” reported the Treasury Palace in a statement released tonight.
Caputo met in the last few hours with the Managing Director of Operations of the World Bank, Anna Bjerde, who confirmed that the entity will finance US$2,000 million to the country. The funds have specific items and, according to the government, they must be allocated “to the social protection, the education and help to vulnerable sectors for make more affordable he transport and the electricity rates”.
Later, the minister, next to Pablo Quirno, Secretary of Finance, met with the Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (CFI), Makhtar Diop. The IFC is the agency of the World Bank in charge of finance the private investment, as well as the mobilization of capital from third parties in our country.
During the meeting, they analyzed the possible investments that could be made in Argentina in the next two years. Along these lines, they discussed sectors such as sustainable mining, renewable energy, health, in addition to the decarbonization from sectors that are difficult to reduce such as steel and aviationand the financing of trade. Diop confirmed to Caputo that the entity will finance US$3,000 million of dollars.
The head of Economy and the secretary of Finance also led a meeting with the Brazilian Ilan Goldfajn, president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), an old acquaintance of the country since, during his time in IMF, was in charge of reviewing the program with Argentina. The parties agreed to consolidate a “joint work agenda“to advance in the “economic development of the country” and at the same time “continue protecting the most vulnerable sectors.”
At the end of the meeting, they announced that The IDB “will support the country with more than US$2.4 billion for the public sector”which includes “operations already approved and in execution, as well as pending to be submitted for approval by the Executive Board of the institution in the remainder of the year.” The funds should be allocated to “strengthen social protection, improve primary education, optimize fiscal management and expand access to essential energy services, with a special focus on the most needy households.”
In parallel, Goldfajn confirmed that the IDB Invest will promote financial support to the Argentine private sector for the next two years, for an amount greater than US$1.4 billion.
While Argentina advances in its incorporation into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, andThe economic team and the head of the IDB, during the meeting of these last hours, They also focused on “the transformative potential that the country’s accession to the OECD”. In this sense, the IDB showed its commitment to “provide a significant technical and financial support to accompany the country during this process”.
Finally, the Ministry of Economy reported that “it was agreed to begin the process to finalize the operations of the Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean (INTAL), in order to optimize resources and improve joint efficiency.” According to them, this step seeks to “strengthen the IDB’s regional integration agenda through new regional programs and greater responsibilities in the central structure of the institution.”
Source: Ambito
