WASHINGTON, March 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The International Monetary Fund announced that its board of directors will discuss Argentina’s $45 billion agreement on Friday, the final step of approval after two years of negotiations.
If approved, it would be Argentina’s 22nd IMF program and the latest chapter in the country’s tumultuous relationship with the Washington-based lender. The pending agreement would refinance payments owed from a record IMF bailout given to the previous government in 2018 that failed to stabilize the economy.
Argentina’s congress passed legislation this week that approved the IMF’s financing of the new deal, but not the economic policies underpinning the program. The agreement further exposed a divide within the ruling coalition led by President Alberto Fernandez, with several lawmakers in the far-left wing of the bloc voting against the deal.
Still, the IMF applauded the vote passing through congress.
Congressional approval “is an important signal that Argentina is committed to policies that will encourage more sustainable and inclusive growth,” IMF chief spokesperson Gerry Rice said in a statement.
The government also chose to bundle two payments due to the IMF on Monday and Tuesday for a total of about $2.8 billion into one single payment due on March 31, according to the IMF statement. The IMF said such a change is consistent with its rules and Argentina won’t enter into “arrears” or default as a result.
Upon board approval, Argentina would soon receive about $9.8 billion from the IMF to cover payments from a previous program and bolster the central bank’s reserves. The rest of the disbursements, totaling $45 billion, are conditioned to the government meeting certain fiscal and monetary targets in quarterly reviews.
