The President of the World Bank, Kim Yong Kim, agreed today with the Argentine Government to finance new projects for 2018 for 2 billion dollars. The financing will be divided in two stages of 1 billion for the public sector and 1 billion for the private sector.
In addition, the Minister of Finance, Luis Caputo, and the President of the World Bank signed three loans of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), one of the member institutions that compose the World Bank Group, for more than 400 million dollars aimed at the improvement of access to housing, the improvement of administrative services for the citizenship and at the increase of financing for Belgrano Plan.
The Comprehensive Housing Project, financed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for 200 million dollars, shall be aimed at the increase of access to formal housing and to the improvement of living conditions in selected urban informal settlements.
The project of Modernization and Innovation to Improve Public Services in Argentina, also financed by the IBRD for 80 million dollars, shall be aimed at the improvement of quality and access of some selected governmental administrative services and at the increase of transparency within public administration. The additional financing for the Belgrano Plan shall be aimed at the development of water-provision and sanitation services for 125 million dollars.
Kim began today his visit to Argentina with a working agenda of meetings with Government officials. It is the first time in 25 years that a President of the World Bank visits Argentina.
The President of the WB had a working meeting at Quinta de Olivos with President Mauricio Macri at which Minister of Finance Luis Caputo also attended. The last time Kim and Macri met was in China, during the Argentine President visit last May.
The President of the multilateral credit organization ratified his support to the reform process undertaken by the Government of President Macri: “At the World Bank we are enthusiastic about the reforms made by Mr. President. They are in the right path and we invest where we see we have to invest. We have increased our programs in Argentina because they have a very promising future”, Kim said.
The Minister of Finance, Luis Caputo, Argentine Governor before the WB, highlighted the role of the credit organization as an ally: “The World Bank is a strategic partner in our program of economic reforms and in the process of recovering the world’s confidence in our country. The World Bank’s support is a key element to modernize and improve infrastructure. We need better routes, better trains, better communications to grow and to create sustainable employment. For more than 60 years, Argentina and the World Bank have been partners”.
In that sense, Macri and Kim ratified the importance of developing infrastructure, connectivity, entrepreneurship and social assistance.
The agenda continued with a speech of the president of the multilateral organization at the Congress. The speech was introduced by Minister Luis Caputo. Both officials highlighted the importance of investment and the creation of jobs. Kim was accompanied by the acting president of the Senate, Federico Pinedo, and by the head of the Chamber of Deputies, Emilio Monzo. Before the legislators, the representative of the WB gave a positive opinion about Argentina’s presidency at next-year G20: “The world needs a strong leadership and Argentina is ready for that”.
Since the beginning of this Government, the World Bank has lent Argentina USD 2.325 billion and USD 1.7 billion by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), focused on the private sector. Between January 2016 and April 2017, 12 projects for the public sector were approved for a total amount of USD 2.325 billion for production innovation, social security (Universal Benefit per Child, AUH for its acronym in Spanish), energy, transportation, water and sanitation and housing.