Martin Guzman in France: the Monetary Fund's nod and the help of the French economy minister to seal an agreement in Paris.

From Paris, France - On his first day in the French capital, and following the meeting with the President of the Paris Club and Director of the French Treasury, Emmanuel Moulin, the head of the Argentine Treasury Palace achieved a new extension of the understanding reached in June 2021, for the payment of Argentina's commitments to this forum of creditor countries.

After a virtual meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Minister of Economy, Martín Guzman, on Tuesday afternoon, went to the Palace of Finance in France, in the Bercy district of Paris. At his first working appointment in the French capital, and already with the IMF's nod, the minister would close the conditions of this agreement with Moulin, a trusted man of the holder of the Gallic finance portfolio, Bruno Le Maire.

As a prelude to the meeting with key men in the government of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, the Argentine head of state, Alberto Fernández, and Guzmán, discussed a number of details with the director of the international organization, Kristalina Georgieva, especially to confirm the IMF's approval next Friday. Communication would be key to ratifying the proposal that would be made by the Argentine minister, regarding the form of payment and deadline with the forum of creditor countries.

As Infobae said, Guzmán intended to offer partial cancellations, as Argentina has promised to other bilateral creditors, so that this mechanism will also allow it to extend the terms of payments with the Paris Club. The early hours of a spring day in the French capital boded well for conversations in this city.

Shortly after the seal in Paris, the Palacio de Hacienda in Buenos Aires, through a statement, confirmed what was agreed, stressing that what was agreed will allow “the country to gain time and avoid exposing Argentina to default again.” In addition, the Paris Club and Argentina were willing to discuss debt conditions before 30 June.

The agreement was reached within the framework of a meeting held in the Gallic capital, in which Minister Guzmán was accompanied by the Secretary for International Economic and Financial Affairs, Maia Colodenco; and the Undersecretary of Finance, Ramiro Tosi.

Recall that once the IMF Executive Board ratifies the agreement on Friday, Argentina will receive an initial disbursement of approximately $9.8 billion, allowing it to begin partial cancellations, as well as strengthening its international reserves. “After the agreement with the IMF is closed, the objective is to conclude the renegotiations of the '2014 Joint Declaration' with the Paris Club,” said the Economy Charter.

According to Paris Club rules, there would be, a priori, no refinancing possible without prior agreement with the IMF. The Minister should therefore seek the support of the European IMF members in order to find a new agreement with the Bretton Woods institution on the $44 billion paid to the country during Mauricio Macri's government.

In pursuit of this refinancing, which the Minister of Economy and his team managed with complete hermeticism since their arrival on French soil, the Argentine official would have been in contact, as a decisive gesture to reach the agreement, with his French counterpart, Bruno Le Maire. In fact, and as Infobae was able to confirm, a meeting is planned between the two officials, something that the press office of the Palace in Bercy assures will take place in the next few hours.

The expectation of taking the go-ahead from this “club”, something that the minister and his collaborators handled with absolute reserve, meant that they left only some details of the agenda in Paris to the Argentine Ambassador to France, Leonardo Costantino, a career official with excellent ties to Macron's government.

In fact, early on Tuesday, as Infobae learned, only one embassy vehicle would have waited for the official and his brief group of collaborators at Charles De Gaulle airport in the French capital, and then settled in the Ambassador's residence, an exclusive Parisian department, located opposite the Foch Avenue, the place from which most communications took place.

In addition to the meeting with his peer, Bruno Le Maire, this Wednesday and Thursday, Guzmán will complete his agenda on Friday with participation in the round of the International Energy Agency, a meeting that would be joined by some of the top energy officials of the European Union countries, even though many of those present are discussing extending sanctions on Russia on the import of hydrocarbons.

He will also hold meetings with companies in the energy sector, as he did recently in Houston, in the United States. All in the midst of supply problems for the winter, high demand for the invasion of Ukraine, rising prices and the recent tension with Energy Secretary Dario Martinez and other officials from the area closer to the hard area of Kirchnerism.

Another meeting scheduled to complete the stay of the minister and his team in France is a reserved reception at the residence of Ambassador Costantino, which could be joined by the Argentine Ambassador to UNESCO, Marcela Losardo, who has very good ties with both officials, even bearing in mind that this Thursday is the “Day National Memory for Truth and Justice” in our country.

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