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President Joe Biden will receive Wednesday his Argentine counterpart, Alberto Fernández, at the White House for a meeting that will be marked by Argentina’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at a key moment for Argentina’s debt pact.
Both heads of state were scheduled to meet last July in Washington, but the meeting was postponed because President Biden contracted Covid-19.
Fernández hopes that the joint press conference with Biden will also serve as an endorsement of his administration at a time of uncertainty due to the economic situation and political gridlock in the South American country ahead of the presidential elections next October.
Argentina’s president, who will arrive in Washington after two days of working meetings in New York, will meet with Biden at an important moment in the debt restructuring agreement with the IMF, a body in which the US has a leading role.
In the coming weeks, the Fund’s board must approve the fourth review of the Extended Facilities Program signed a year ago by Argentina, which will entitle it to a disbursement of US$ 5.3 billion, something that has already received the green light from the Fund’s technical staff.
Fernández will be accompanied by his Foreign Minister, Santiago Cafiero, and the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, and will also take advantage of the meeting to voice his criticism of the IMF’s performance, something he has reiterated in several international forums.
Last Saturday, during the 28th Ibero-American Summit, held in the Dominican Republic, the Argentine president lashed out at the Fund for imposing “abusive” rates and surcharges on indebted countries, which, in his opinion, “conditions” their economic growth.
He also called for the need to “increase the transparency of international financial institutions and advocate for greater access to credit facilities.”
Last Thursday, the IMF urged Argentina to take “stronger actions” to safeguard stability in the face of “a challenging economic context, in particular an increasingly severe drought.”
Fund spokeswoman Julie Kozack told a press conference that such “stronger” measures are also needed to address high inflation and possible setbacks to keep the Fund’s program with Argentina on track.
Fernández will be received by Biden at the White House, after his VP, Cristina Fernández, who often clashed with him, did not achieve to do so when she presided over the country (2007-2015).
Former President Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), who is part of Juntos por el Cambio, the country’s main opposition coalition, said on Sunday that Argentina is “adrift, without leadership, isolated from the world.”
The issues Biden has put on the table for discussion with his Argentine counterpart are critical minerals, the climate crisis and space and technology cooperation, in addition to the economy, democracy and human rights.
“The leaders will celebrate 200 years of bilateral relations between the US and Argentina and reaffirm the strength of the partnership,” the White House said in a statement.
The American government has scheduled the meeting with Fernández to coincide with the first day of the Democracy Summit convened by Washington and in which the Argentinean will participate.
This forum, held for the second consecutive year, was initiated “in the face of continuing and alarming challenges to democracy and universal human rights around the world,” as Biden himself explained last year, and he has invited several heads of state to participate in person or virtually in the event.
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The US is the main source of foreign investment in Argentina and is one of its largest trading partners: it is the third largest recipient of Argentine exports, accounting for 7% of the total, and also the third largest source of Argentine imports, accounting for 13% of the total, in both cases behind Brazil and China.
According to official data, last year Argentina exported to the United States 6,589.5 million dollars, 33.9% more than in 2021, and imported from that market for 10,263.7 million, which implied a jump of 75%.
