News Brief No. 00/45

News Brief: IMF Managing Director Horst Köhler Meets Argentine President Fernando de la Rúa

June 13, 2000

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Horst Köhler and the First Deputy Managing Director, Stanley Fischer, met today with President Fernando de la Rúa of Argentina and with the Minister of the Economy José Luis Machinea, as well as with other members of the Argentine delegation which is visiting the United States.

The Argentine authorities outlined their economic program which centers on fiscal consolidation along the lines mandated by Argentina's fiscal responsibility law, comprehensive structural reforms, and new initiatives to promote a recovery of investment in key sectors of the economy.

IMF Management expressed to the President their strong support for these policies, which are important for a lasting recovery of the economy and improved prospects for employment. In this respect, they noted as well the significant pickup in exports in recent months, which witnesses to the improvement in competitiveness of the Argentine economy.

They also supported the Argentine authorities' efforts to ensure an equitable distribution of the short-term costs of economic adjustment, by giving priority to cost-effective social programs aimed at protecting the more vulnerable groups of society, and by stepping up their fight against tax evasion, and waste and inefficiency in public spending.