The South American country has signed a credit program with the IMF under which Argentina receives 44 billion dollars over 30 months in exchange for the central bank increasing its international reserves and the government reducing the fiscal deficit.
Massa will meet in the afternoon with the director of the Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, with whom he hopes to “review the entire disbursement procedure” because his country is experiencing “perhaps the most tragic year in terms of economy” due to the impact of the drought, according to what he pointed out. on Tuesday.
To honor its debt commitments in August, Argentina had to resort to a loan from Qatar, yuan from an existing swap (currency exchange) with China and a bridge loan from the Andean Development Corporation (CAF).
Therefore, of the 7,500 million, the country will have to send a part to Qatar, China and the CAF and save another as provisions for the next maturities.
Argentina, with inflation above 100% per year, is going through a severe shortage of international monetary reserves in the midst of a great demand for dollars, a currency that Argentines turn to as a refuge from rising prices.
Massa said on Tuesday that “in the last 21 days they have accumulated 1.7 billion dollars” of reserves.
It is the second of Massa’s two-day visit to Washington, during which he met with senior US government officials and international organizations such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that promised to lend him 1.3 billion dollars. dollars in total to Argentina for specific development projects.