Washington DC February 22 - Today, the World Bank Managing Director of Operations, Axel van Trotsenburg met with Martín Guzmán, Finance Minister of Argentina, and Gustavo Béliz, Secretary of Strategic Affairs. Mr. Van Trotsenburg congratulated Minister Guzmán on the growth achieved in 2021 and reaffirmed the World Bank’s support to Argentina’s inclusive development.
“Argentina values having a long-term partnership with the World Bank that provides much needed financing for innovative projects to benefit the poor and for the expansion of public service delivery,” said Minister Guzmán.
“The World Bank is committed to supporting Argentina on its growth path and recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Bank support has been key to sustaining basic services for the poor, and financing the much-needed vaccines to protect lives and reactivate the economy,” said Mr. van Trotsenburg.
Since the onset of the economic and health crisis, the World Bank has supported Argentina with projects in the areas of COVID response and vaccination; basic service expansion for the poor and vulnerable; and sustainable productivity and jobs. The World Bank committed to Argentina a record US$2.1 billion in 2021, and has a project pipeline under preparation of at least US$2 billion for 2022.
Looking ahead, Mr. van Trotsenburg, Minister Guzmán and Secretary Béliz discussed the importance of deepening World Bank-Argentina cooperation across a number of key development areas, including health, transport, social inclusion, water and the environment. Minister Guzmán also informed Mr. van Trotsenburg about the status of Argentina’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
Finally, Mr. van Trotsenburg congratulated Mr. Guzman and Mr. Béliz for achieving high levels of vaccinations against COVID-19 among the population and noted the strong cooperation between Argentina and the World Bank on vaccine finance and deployment, as well as in critical investments and technical assistance.
