Following the conclusion of the agreement, Sergio Massa met with IMF Director General Kristalina Georgieva in Washington, United States of America.
Prior to this meeting, Argentina’s Economy Minister had a meeting with IMF Deputy Director General Gita Gopinath.
“We had a very productive meeting […]. We spoke about the impact of the worst drought in Argentina’s history and we committed to continue working together to strengthen the program in the face of this difficult scenario,” said Sergio Massa in a message published on the social network Twitter.
For her part, Gita Gopinath highlighted the “good meeting” with the Argentine minister and underlined the commitment to continue working together to respond to the effects of the drought in the South American country.
Sergio Massa also met with the new director general of operations at the World Bank (WB), Anna Bjerde, a meeting that led to the announcement that the company will be disbursing $950 million (around €863 million) across multiple projects in the coming months is based on the effects of drought in Argentina.
The minister described the meeting with Anna Bjerde as “very positive”, at which Argentina’s solid support in the face of the drought was reaffirmed.
In her Twitter account, the BM’s Director General of Operations stated that “Argentina is experiencing its worst drought since 1906” and reiterated that the World Bank is “an essential partner to ensure a sustained return to growth and resilience over the long term”. .
In December, inflation in Argentina hit 5.1%, totaling 94.8% in 2022, leaving the country behind only Venezuela, Zimbabwe and Lebanon and ahead of conflictaffected countries like Syria, Ukraine, Ethiopia and Myanmar.
With inflation approaching 95% in 2022, Argentina hit its worst rate in 32 years, surpassing the 84% recorded in 1991, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC).
The nearly 95% for 2022 effectively doubles the 50.9% for 2021 and more than doubles the 38% to 48% range for 2022 pledged to the IMF in the financial agreement reached in March last year.
In three years in office, since December 2019, Argentine President Alberto Fernández has reached a record 300% of cumulative inflation.
Also Read: Spanish Farmers Warn of Severe Drought and ‘Catastrophic’ Scenario
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