The Minister of Finance, Luis Caputo, finished this Friday his participation in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in Washington.

Within said context, the Finance Minister met with the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Gilbert Huongbo, and they signed a financing agreement for 12.3 million dollars and a million-dollar donation for the Program of Development of Goat Chains (PRODECCA, for its acronym in Spanish).

Caputo said: “We thank the IFAD for its work in our country and highlight its contribution in the reduction of rural poverty, which is one of the Argentine Government’s priorities”, and he added: “IFAD’s support is of vital importance to strengthen regional and producer economies through their sustainable integration in value chains”.

PRODECCA will promote the incorporation of small goat producers in the market, benefitting 8,000 families in the Provinces of Chaco, Formosa, Neuquen, Mendoza and Santiago del Estero. This way, this initiative encourages the incorporation of vulnerable groups of said region. It will also have an indirect impact in the development of goat products consumption markets.

This project is the second one signed during 2017 with this Fund. In March, 24 million dollars aimed at the improvement of the insertion of small producers from the North of Argentina in different value chains were approved. Since 1988, IFAD has financed eight rural development programs and projects in Argentina for a total amount of USD372.3 million.

IFAD is a financial institution of the United Nations, created in 1978 and comprised by 176 countries, that finances innovative programs and projects of rural development in developing countries.

In addition, Caputo held a meeting with the Assistant Director in the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department, in charge of the work on financial sector regulation and supervision and crisis management, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, and they exchanged perspectives about the financial inclusion challenges of the region. “Financial inclusion is crucial to achieve growth; we need to increase the benefits of access to financial services and credit among the most vulnerable sectors of society”, Mr. Minister said.

Finally, the team of the Ministry of Finance met with the authorities of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and they analyzed the financing for the Argentine railway system, within the framework of the infrastructure plan carried out by the National Government. The Chief of Cabinet, Pablo Quirno; the Secretary of Finance, Santiago Bausili; and the Undersecretary of International Financial Relations, Martin Soto, also participated in the meeting. Caputo had already had talks with the Operating Officer, Senior Managing Director and Director of Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Nobumitsu Hayashi, during IDB Meeting in Paraguay in March. JBIC is a financial institution of the Japanese Government and it is aimed at contributing with the development of the international economy, promoting development and providing the necessary financial services to avoid alterations in the international financial sector. Caputo also talked with important investors of the region.

The Minister of Finance, Luis Caputo, is carrying out a tough working agenda in the United States, where he travelled to participate in the 2017 World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings.

This morning, Caputo attended a working breakfast with investors and businessmen from Americas Society and Council of the Americas (AS/COA) in the City of New York, where he also held a meeting with the president and CEO of AS/COA, Susan Segal. The Finance Minister and his team also met with the main banks of Wall Street.

After that, Mr. Minister gave a press conference with international journalists and national correspondents where he said “infrastructure investment is one of the main priorities of the agenda” in New York and Washington, where he will be travelling tomorrow. In that sense, he highlighted the importance of Spring Meetings due to the fact that “the World Bank is our strategic partner and we have many projects in common”.

Within this framework, he said: “Infrastructure projects in Argentina focus on transport and energy”, and he added: “The infrastructure program we are developing is very ambitious: railways, routes, oil, renewable energy, among other areas”. Likewise, he said: “We see great interest in investment. Some projects are already in progress; it is a process that has already begun and will be consolidating through the years”.

In addition, he said the country “has covered 70% of its financial needs for this year”, and he explained that “we have a fiscal responsibility agreement with the Provinces according to which they have to coordinate with the National Government their issues and the time and manner in which they access the market”.

Caputo also highlighted the need to “make the domestic market grow and develop the local capital market”. In that sense, he said: “We are already working on a Bill to change the capital market and we look forward to the support of the different sectors in Congress. We need a bigger local market to finance growth”.

Lastly, Mr. Minister said: “The exit from default and a long-term curve in pesos resulted in the reference rates to grant loans to SEMs and individuals, which is what we are doing from the Ministry of Finance trough the coordination of public banks”, and he added: “This way, the true country-risk is moving to businesses and individuals at a level of lower rates and longer terms. There will be more credit for individuals and SMEs, which will foster financial inclusion”. Caputo also said: “The Government wants to lower financing costs for industries and businesses” and he added: “The Argentine society supports the process of change we are carrying out”.

In addition, tomorrow Caputo and the team of the Ministry of Finance will continue their agenda in the City of Washington, where Mr. Minister will participate in the Panel “Infrastructure: Latin America and the Caribbean’s New Growth Engine” and the Chief of Cabinet, Pablo Quirno, will participate in the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) Advisory Council Meeting, “Country Infrastructure Program. Focus on Latin America”, among other events and bilateral meetings.

The Minister of Treasury, Nicolas Dujovne, and the Minister of Finance, Luis Caputo, held this afternoon a meeting with the President of the Swiss Confederation, Doris Leuthard, who arrived to the country together with a delegation of businessmen and will be meeting tomorrow with President Mauricio Macri.

During the meeting, the officials discussed the evolution of agreements between both countries on automatic sharing of tax information and their development was highly appreciated.

President Leuthard highlighted the changes implemented by President Mauricio Macri’s Government and offered her cooperation to encourage investment in Argentina. She also highlighted the improvement of financial credit ratings and the National Government’s efforts to open to the market.

During the meeting, Leuthard and the Ministers talked about the G20 agenda, presided over by Argentina next year.

The Swiss President and her delegation will also have a tough agenda with national officials and private investors. Mrs. Leuthard came to the country with more than thirty CEOs, representing the areas of machinery production, railways, engineering, pharmaceutics industry, renewable energy, agricultural products and the financial sector.