After meeting with Batakis, Georgieva highlighted the minister’s “first efforts” to lower the fiscal deficit

After meeting with the Minister of Economy, Silvina Batakis, the CEO of the International Monetary Fund said on Monday that he had had a meeting “productive” and highlighted the “initial efforts” of the Argentine official to lower the fiscal deficit.

Batakis met the head of the Fund in Washington at the organization’s headquarters, where she arrived accompanied by her deputy Karina Angeletti, ambassador Jorge Argüello and the head of the foreign ministry at the embassy, ​​Juan Nador. Sergio Chodos, Argentine representative in front of the Fund, stayed in Buenos Aires.

“Another productive meeting with minister @sbatakis”, Georgieva tweeted after the meeting. “We welcome its initial efforts to strengthen fiscal sustainability and we agree on the importance of firm implementation of the program to address Argentina’s economic and social challenges ”.

The meeting between the two took place after Batakis visited the advisor to the Treasury Secretary, David Lipton. It is the first face to face between Georgieva and Batakis, despite the two having already spoken virtually.

Batakis arrived in Washington with the idea of ​​achieving flexibility in the objectives of the Extended Facilities program with the Fund, which his predecessor Martín Guzmán signed for $ 45,000 million and which seems very difficult to achieve.

The program includes a reduction of Argentina’s fiscal deficit to 2.5% of GDP in 2022, a contraction of monetary assistance to the Treasury to 1% of GDP and an increase in net international reserves of $ 5.8 billion this year.

In her tweet, Georgieva pointed out the “initial efforts” of the minister to contain the deficit, something that many experts doubt, in times of low collection, wage pressures due to inflation and the economic crisis.

The low expectation that the agreement’s objectives will be met, among other reasons, fueled the financial turmoil in Buenos Aires as the government awaited the results of Batakis’ talks with IMF officials to act.

After meeting at the Fund, Batakis traveled a few meters to the headquarters of the World Bank, where she was welcomed. Axel van Trotsenburg, Director of operations of the organization. The minister left happy because she took Board approval on Monday of a $ 200 million package to finance innovation and sustainable growth projects.

The plan will be implemented by the National Agency for Science and Technology Promotion and focuses on the creation of technology-based productive companies, support for entrepreneurs and access to private capital.

“Innovation plays an important role in diversifying sources of growth in a country like Argentina, which has skilled human capital, research capabilities and entrepreneurial energy,” said Jordan Schwartz, World Bank Director for Argentina, Paraguay. and Uruguay. “Investing in this area promotes greener and more inclusive development, hand in hand with the creation of new jobs,” he added.

In their meeting, Van Trotsenburg and Batakis argued the global impact of inflation and war in Ukraine and Argentina’s role in helping to alleviate the world food crisis as a large agricultural producer.

They also discussed the macroeconomic situation in Argentina and confirmed their commitment to work together to protect the poor from the impact of inflation and other macroeconomic challenges, to improve basic services and infrastructure, and to push the agenda forward. climate change as a way to promote sustainable growth in Argentina