Argentina signs agreements with Paris Club members to refinance debt

The Argentine Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, has signed bilateral agreements with Spain, France, and Sweden to refinance the country’s debt with the Paris Club, an international forum for creditor and debtor countries.

The agreements aim to ensure the sustainability of Argentina’s external debt and support its economic recovery.

According to the Treasury Palace, these bilateral agreements will provide financing for infrastructure projects, benefiting both the public and private sectors and enhancing the country’s competitiveness.

Argentina has made significant progress in restructuring its debt with the Paris Club.

In 2022, the current administration reached bilateral agreements with 15 out of the 16 creditors of the multilateral entity.

Recent months have seen additional agreements with countries such as Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Israel, Finland, Austria, Denmark, the USA, and the United Kingdom.

With these new agreements, Argentina has also resolved the arrears from the 2014 Joint Declaration, which occurred after the country suspended payments in 2019.

Minister Massa emphasized the importance of maintaining focus on effective management during a meeting with his economic team.

This comes after announcing his candidacy as the presidential nominee representing the Unidos Por la Patria alliance for the general elections on October 22.

In 2019, Argentina ceased payments to the Paris Club member countries, but an agreement was reached in October last year to repay the outstanding debt.

Under the new pact, the current administration has committed to disburse a total of US$1.972 billion in 13 semi-annual installments from December 2022 until September 2028.

The average installment amounts to US$170 million, although some disbursements require US$390 million.

Argentina also has outstanding debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since receiving the organization’s largest loan in history, totaling US$44 billion, during the presidency of Mauricio Macri (2015-2019).