Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, receiving the Argentine president, brought his support to Buenos Aires with a view to an agreement « as soon as possible » with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) aimed at renegotiating the repayment of Argentina’s debt.
Alberto Fernández has acknowledged that negotiations with the Paris Club have progressed silently in recent days and that he will address this complex economic and financial issue during the lunch he will share with Emmanuel Macron.
After passing through Lisbon and Madrid, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez is making a stopover this Wednesday in Paris, the third stop on his European tour. He will have lunch with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. On the menu is the renegotiation of Argentina’s debt with the International Monetary Fund. What are the stakes of these discussions, while the Argentine economy has been heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Argentina asks the Paris Club to refinance the deadline of more than $ 2,000 million that expires on May 31, without this implying going into default or paying late interest of 9% per annum, and to spend all negotiations until the end of the eventual agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Fernandez is currently on a tour of Europe, intended to find support to obtain delays in the repayment of Argentina’s debt contracted with the IMF and the Paris Club. He has already received support from Lisbon and Madrid and is expected in Rome, where he is due to meet with Pope Francis, his compatriot, at the Vatican on Thursday.
His tour follows a trip to Europe by Argentine Minister of the Economy, Martin Guzmán, who said in Paris that he had found « very important support » before negotiations with the IMF.
« We want Argentina to reach an agreement as soon as possible » and « we also encourage Argentina to discuss constructively with the Paris Club creditors, » the head of state said in a statement. with Alberto Fernández, a 62-year-old Peronist, before a lunch at the Elysee Palace with their wives.
The Argentine president took the opportunity to « publicly thank » Mr. Macron for the support provided by France « both in the negotiations with private financiers, as in those we are conducting with the Paris Club and the IMF ».
Before sharing a dinner with his official delegation, the president revealed that Martín Guzmán was approaching a deal that would allow Argentina to refinance the payment of more than $ 2,000 million at the end of May.
From this perspective, if there is finally an agreement from the Paris Club, the reserves of the Central Bank would not have to disburse more than $ 2 billion in 2020 to repay the capital debt.
And everything would remain for 2022, including the conclusion of the extended facilities agreement with the IMF. It sounds like a state secret, but it isn’t: Alberto Fernández doesn’t want to pay a dime in 2021. Neither to the Paris Club, nor to the International Monetary Fund.
« Martín has worked a lot on this (a probable agreement with the Paris Club) and I think that we have made good progress », revealed the head of state this evening before going to the Argentine embassy in France for dinner with the delegation.
Argentina must repay over the next three years almost all of the 45 billion dollars loaned by the IMF to the previous government of Mauricio Macri.
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