Caputo at the World Bank: “We had rebuilt credibility and thus we achieved the necessary financing for infrastructure”

The Minister of Finance, Luis Caputo, participated this Thursday – in his capacity as Governor before the World Bank – in the activities of the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the Monetary Fund in Washington. Caputo gave a speech at the Panel “Infrastructure: Latin America and the Caribbean’s New Growth Engine”. The Chief of Cabinet, Pablo Quirno, attended the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) Advisory Council Meeting and participated in the forum “Country Infrastructure Program. Focus on Latin America”.

During the exhibition, Caputo said: “We have an ambitious infrastructure plan, much greater than the average for the region”. He also explained: “In order to attract investment, we need an appropriate legal framework, to build confidence and credibility”; and he also added: “Over the last 15 months, the National Government has done a great job rebuilding the credibility the country had lost and we are now receiving the benefits of said effort”.

In this sense, the panel focused on the infrastructure investment in Latin America and the Caribbean to pave the way for the economic recovery. The panel also included the participation of the Vice President of the World Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jorge Familiar; the Director of the Public Credit Office of the Ministry of Treasury and Public Credit of Mexico, Alberto Torres; the President of the National Development Financial Agency of Colombia, Clemente Del Valle; the Minister of Public Finance of Guatemala, Julio Hector Estrada; the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications of Chile, Paola Tapia; and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of Planning of Brazil, Jorge Arbache. Gabriela Frias (CNN in Spanish) acted as moderator.

Earlier, in an interview conducted by Mariana Ceratti and broadcasted by the World Bank through Facebook Live, the Minister of Finance said: “We have a long-standing relationship with the World Bank, it is a strategic partner of our development plan and it is particularly important in this moment when we have the most ambitious infrastructure plan of our history”. In this sense, he recalled: “Since Macri took office, the World Bank has financed 2.3 billion dollars for the public sector and with very convenient deadlines”.

Likewise, Mr. Minister said: “We are studying new alternatives for investment in infrastructure, such as the development of the local capital market and the Public-Private Participation (PPP) scheme, which are very important financing tools”. Finally, he said: “Today, our duty is to build the necessary conditions for Argentina to be the attractive country for investment it once was”.

In addition, during his exhibition, Quirno talked about the Public-Private Participation (PPP) scheme as a tool to accompany the infrastructure development in Argentina, for it constitutes a balance between public and private investment.

Likewise, during the afternoon, Caputo held a meeting with the President of the IDB, Luis Alberto Moreno, to follow up on the projects in which IDB supports Argentina.

Later, Mr. Minister will meet with the Vice President of GE, John G. Rice, and other authorities of the company. At the end of the day, he will attend a reception at the Argentine Embassy within the framework of the World Malbec Day together with Pablo Quirno, Santiago Bausili and the Undersecretary of International Financial Relations, Martin Soto.

Minister Caputo will finish his agenda in Washington this Friday, after holding a bilateral meeting with the President of the World Bank, Jim Kim. In addition, he will meet with Gilbert Huongo, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations body aimed at eliminating poverty in rural areas of developing countries. He will also meet with the Senior Director for the Finance and Markets Global Practice of the World Bank Group, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, and they will talk about the main challenges of financial inclusion. Mr. Minister will also meet with authorities of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to evaluate financing possibilities for the railway system. Caputo will also meet with important investors of the region.