Bali, 16 November 2022 (TDI): Alberto Fernández, the President of the Argentine Republic, and Kristalina Georgieva; the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), met today in Bali.
This meeting took place on the sidelines of the G20 summit. At the meeting, Georgieva stressed how important it was to maintain the economic course in Argentina.
Georgieva said that “it is very important that Argentina stays the course as it has done so successfully in recent months”.
This was stated in a clear reference to Economy Minister Sergio Massa’s policies, aimed at deepening the adjustment to pay the external debt.
At the meeting, Fernández was joined by the Argentine Ambassador to the United States (US), Jorge Argüello. Also Sergio Massa, and the Foreign Minister of Argentina, Santiago Cafiero accompanied them.
On the other hand, Georgieva was accompanied by Gita Gopinath, Economic Counselor and the Director of the Department of Studies.
Kristina Kostial, the IMF’s Deputy Managing Director, Christian Mumssen, the Finance Director, and Krishna Srinivasan, Director for Asia and the Pacific joined them.
War in Ukraine
Moreover, the IMF’s Managing Director referred to their “very productive conversation” with the Argentine administration “about the impact of the Ukrainian war.”
Secondly, they also “paid attention to the necessity of Argentina continuing with the objective of lowering inflation.”
Additionally, the expense of the Ukrainian war was reviewed at the meeting, to lower debt payment targets. However, Georgieva promised to bring up the subject of overcharges during the board meeting next year.
The meeting was on the agenda of the Argentine administration for the G20 summit taking place this week. Furthermore, according to reports, President Fernández brought up the issue of surcharges.
He specifically referred to the charges the IMF imposes on debt-ridden nations. He emphasized the necessity of “the execution of the Resilience and Sustainability Fund” and “a fairer distribution of the Special Drawing Rights (DEG) of the Fund.”