The World Bank assured in a meeting with President Javier Milei and the Minister of Economy, Luis "Toto" Caputo, that the entity will provide a "significant support package" aimed at strengthening the Central Bank's reserves, within the framework of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
This was reported by Ajay Banga, head of the World Bank, an organization linked to the IMF, to the Milei Government during a meeting held this noon at the Casa Rosada, before the President and the head of Economy embark on their trip to the United States.
According to a statement from the Presidency, the international financial institution is "working closely with President Milei and his team to support his ambitious reform agenda".
La reunión con Milei.
"As a short-term demonstration of that commitment, we are preparing a significant support package that brings together all the strength of the World Bank Group to support the reforms, attract private investments, and lay the foundations for job creation", the statement added.
In this line, Banga pointed out, according to the official document, that progress is being made in coordination with the Argentine economic team, the IMF, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to ensure that "the support is aligned, effective, and sends a strong signal of international confidence in Argentina's future".
The meeting was attended by Milei, Ajay Banga, the Secretary General of the Presidency, Karina Milei, Minister Caputo, and the Secretary of Finance, Pablo Quirno.
"Banga highlighted the significant progress made in such a short time. In this regard, he congratulated President Milei for the bold transformation he is leading in Argentina and expressed the World Bank Group's desire to support the country", concluded the official statement.
Javier Milei, presidente de Argentina.
Both the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank have been mentioned in recent market analyses when evaluating what additional contribution they could make, along with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to strengthen the Central Bank's reserves.
A report from a Swiss banking entity highlighted that "the new IMF funds are crucial to pay Argentina's considerable debt in the coming years and strengthen the central bank's reserves, which could facilitate a gradual easing of capital controls by the end of this year".
"An agreement could also generate support from other multilateral institutions (for example, the World Bank) and help Argentina fully regain market access", the report added.
Meanwhile, Citi bank attempted to quantify that hypothesis. "In our opinion, the total [of the agreement] will likely be between USD 15,000 and USD 20,000 million, which could be boosted by funds (USD 5,000 million) from the World Bank (WB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); if these additional funds materialize, or if the agreement with the IMF exceeds USD 20,000 million, Argentina will have the means to eliminate capital controls this year", the entity noted in its report.
