Argentina meets with the IMF at the G20 summit

The President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, met today in Indonesia, within the framework of the 17th G20 Leaders Summit, with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva in what he described as a “very good”, and assured that both agreed on “the negative” of the consequences of the war “for the whole world”.

“We just finished a meeting with Kristalina Georgieva and it went very well. She is aware of everything we are doing for the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and she sees, just like we do, the negative of the war for the whole world. As human beings, we have to work for peace. Continuing killing people after the pandemic makes no logic, sense, or forgiveness,” said the Argentine president.

During the bilateral meeting, it was highlighted how, faced with the economic impact of the war, which translates into an increase in inflation at a global level, advanced countries are implementing contractive monetary policies that increase the cost of financing for emerging countries, in a context of growing food and energy insecurity.

For her part, Georgieva said that “it is very important that Argentina stay the course as successfully as it has done in recent months.”

This was expressed in a press conference at the end of the meeting in which the Argentine Ministers of Economy also participated, Sergio Massa; of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, Santiago Cafiero, and the Argentine ambassador to the United States and G20 Sherpa, Jorge Argüello.

In addition, Georgieva stressed the importance of Argentina “continuing with the objective of lowering inflation and improving the performance of the economy”, in a way that “takes into account the needs of the population, especially the most vulnerable segments.”

Georgieva valued having “successfully completed the second review in a short period” due to the “discipline that Minister Massa and his team have shown”, and explained the coincidences that both parties expressed in the conversation “regarding that in this environment such a difficult global race, it is important to continue with this discipline.”

The effects of the war in Ukraine on the economic situation in the South American country and globally, was one of the key issues addressed at the meeting, where Argentina raised the need to move forward with possible financial relief for countries with vulnerabilities of debt.

In this sense, the head of the Fund stated that “I hope that everyone can convey that in this place the leaders of the G20, including Argentina, met to face together the difficulties of our world and set the message that war must end up”. “Let there be peace,” she exclaimed.

On behalf of the IMF, the deputy managing director, Gita Gopinath; the director of the Department of Asia and the Pacific, Krishna Srinivasan; Finance Director Christian Mumssen; and Deputy Managing Director Kristina Kostial.

The G20 leaders requested that the final declaration of the summit in the city of Bali include the review of the IMF’s surcharge policy, in line with the proposal that the Argentine government has been making in recent months in different forums.

The final document states in its point 33 that the signatory leaders “are committed to supporting all vulnerable countries so that they recover together and stronger” and highlights “the commitments for an amount of USD 81,600 million through the voluntary channeling of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) or equivalent contributions”, urging in this regard the commitment of all countries capable of fulfilling the total global ambition of USD 100,000 million of voluntary contributions for developing countries.

The joint document also highlights the implementation of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST), aimed at helping “low-income countries, small states and vulnerable middle-income countries” to address long-term structural challenges. term that pose macroeconomic risks, including those from pandemics and climate change.

The final declaration, of 17 pages and 52 points that refer to different topics, was the only one adopted by consensus in the G20 framework since last February 24 and for its approval the unified voice of emerging countries was essential in order to maintain relevance of the international forum and as a plural sphere of dialogue between these countries and the developed nations.

In addition, the communiqué emphasizes the importance of the WTO Multilateral Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, encouraging its early entry into force.