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Alberto Fernández returns to Argentina “satisfied” after having “opened the doors” this March 29 at the White House for “strategic work” with the United States and that Joe Biden told him that he can “count on him” in the face of difficulties economic losses caused by the drought.
“I am satisfied with the meeting” and “happy because I am convinced that the doors have been opened for strategic and joint work with the United States,” the Argentine president said at a press conference after the meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting, Fernández explained to his counterpart that the country is going through its worst drought since 1929 and “that has made the economy very difficult.”
“We are raising this new reality with credit agencies, so I hope they continue to accompany us as they have done up to now,” he added, addressing Biden, whose country is the main shareholder of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has approved a credit program for Argentina for a total of 44,000 million dollars at 30 months.
In fact, Buenos Aires is waiting for the Fund’s executive board to approve the disbursement of 5.3 billion dollars, which already has the approval of the organization’s technical staff after the fourth review of the aid package for the South American country.
“Destroyed economies”
Fernández affirmed that Biden told him “to count on him and his government” and that they have in common that both countries have inherited “destroyed economies” from previous executives.
In addition, the Democratic president, who had to postpone the bilateral meeting eight months ago for having contracted covid-19, was in favor of international credit organizations having “a specific policy for middle-income countries,” added Fernández.
In a statement, the White House affirms that both countries pledged to work together with other G20 countries “in the reform of the multilateral development banks to better address global challenges.”
For Biden, the meeting was a good opportunity for both to agree to “deepen cooperation” in various sectors such as clean energy, critical minerals, technology or security.
“We can cooperate a lot,” stressed the Democratic president, aware of the opportunity to pamper the relationship with a friendly country at a time when China is striving to extend its influence in Latin America, although according to Fernández this issue did not come up in the meeting alone.
He did not specify if it came up in the meeting between the technical teams.
After 200 years of diplomatic relations, “today we embark on the next century of partnership and this meeting is an opportunity to reaffirm that nothing is out of reach if we work together,” Biden said, thanking him for the way in which the Argentine government “managed” the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine “is inadmissible,” said Fernández at the press conference, who “condemned” the Russian offensive again. We must “end this conflict as soon as possible,” he said.
“I raised what I believe is the need to seek to get the parties to sit down again and find a negotiated solution,” he added.
But Biden did not take a position. “He listened to me”, the Argentine president limited himself to saying.
The United States provides weapons to kyiv, something Argentina refuses.
“I don’t think about re-election”
Argentina believes that both countries can contribute to alleviate the effects of the war.
“We have a great opportunity ahead of us, the world demands food, the world demands energy and we have all these goods in our countries and we can produce them in our countries,” explained Fernández.
And he took the opportunity to insist on an idea that he has been raising for months: join forces with other countries in the region such as Mexico or Brazil in a “big project” to produce food.
The economy is perhaps Fernández’s main concern in the middle of an election year, although he still hasn’t decided whether to run in the elections next October.
“I’m not thinking about re-election,” he said at the press conference, specifying that he has “his head stuck in the problem” that he followed along with the entire government.
The one who also took advantage of the fact that Fernández was in Washington was Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who introduced a bill that calls for investigating five Argentine officials, including Vice President Cristina Kirchner, for alleged “corruption.”
According to Fernández, “obviously that subject was not touched on at all.” “There are political marginals everywhere; also in the United States,” he concluded, referring to the senator.
They decided, according to the White House, “to cooperate to strengthen democratic institutions and good governance practices in the region.”
