Guzmán unexpectedly visits Russia to speed up production of Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina

Surprisingly and after confirming a series of meetings, the Minister of the Economy, Martín Guzmán, will arrive in Russia on Sunday to accelerate the initiative to produce the Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina.

This was reported by the Palais des Finances after the official’s meeting today with the French Minister of Finance and with the President of the Paris Club.

“The last stop of the European tour will take place in the city of Moscow, where the presidential adviser will also join, Cecilia Nicolini. The themes will be the strategic cooperation relationship, negotiations with the IMF and the production of the Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina, ”he said in a statement. The representative of Argentina to the IMF, Sergio Chodos, it will also be fun.

Guzmán met this Friday in Paris with his French financial partner, Bruno Le Maire, and with the Director General of the Treasury and President of the Paris Club, Emmanuel Moulin, “With whom he advanced in the dialogue on the renegotiation of the Argentine debt”, as happened with his counterparts in Germany, Italy and Spain.

The head of the Palacio de Hacienda met in the morning with Le Maire, economist and abundant writer, “with whom he discussed the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Paris Club”, because the government intends to postpone the deadlines with the two agencies. In May, there is a $ 2.4 billion maturity with the Paris Club, while in September and December, two principal payments to the IMF are added for a total of $ 4.4 billion.

In addition, “the ministers discussed relations between Argentina and France, and work within the G20 to strengthen the rules that lead to greater stability and global sustainability.”

On the other hand, “Guzmán and Le Maire agreed on the importance of advancing international tax policies that solve the problem of tax evasion suffered by the current rules of globalization”.

“The dialogue with my French counterpart, with whom we continue to build a consensus on Argentina’s relations with the IMF and the Paris Club, is always very precious, joining forces for a healthier multilateralism for the world. Thank you Bruno Le Maire for your understanding and the support you always have ”, declared Guzmán after the meeting.

Then the Minister met the President of the Paris Club, Emmanuel Moulin, “With whom it was agreed to work constructively so that the country can have a sustainable capacity to honor its commitments.” The meetings took place in the sophisticated building on rue de Bercy which once served as a customs post.

It remains to be seen whether all of these diplomatic gestures translate into deeds in the coming weeks, when the country faces the aforementioned payments.

The encouraging rhetoric of the European minister – which contrasts with the local economic panorama – is complemented by the recent arrival of two important leaders from Washington to Buenos Aires, which must be interpreted as a symptom of concern which the Argentine Government in this context highly critical for the country.

Although with different approaches, the Admiral’s agendas Craig faller, Chief of Southern Command and Juan Gonzalez, the principal adviser on Latin American questions of the North American president Joe biden, coincide by showing that there is a space for dialogue and bilateral cooperation.

As González pointed out Infobae, this approach may translate into greater flexibility of the IMF’s main partner during negotiations with the multilateral organization to which Argentina owes USD 45 billion contracted within the government of Mauricio Macri.

This is an important signal for the administration of Alberto Fernandez, because the “policy” could again be imposed on the technicians of the IMF. Examples of international politics being forced on Fund bureaucracy are abundant: this happened in the 1990s when the Bill clinton – and general manager Michelle Camdessus himself – ignored complaints from her staff about Argentina’s violations; also, in 2003 in the government of Néstor Kirchner when Anne Krueger He didn’t want to sign a roll over but he did it due to the pressure of the tandem George W. Bush-John Taylor; and, again, it happened in 2018 when David Lipton He did not want to give in to sign a second loan, but had to do so due to direct communication between Donald trump Yes Mauricio Macri.

This new “window of opportunity” may have its raison d’être in the decision of the United States not to let Argentina end its fall, as China increases its influence in the region in the midst of the crisis due to the crisis. pandemic.

Sin embargo, a la vez, esta mirada atenta de Washington le generará condicionamientos al gobierno argentino, por la tradicional agenda norteamericana en materia de derechos humanos (in particular for Venezuela in the region), la lucha contra la corrupción y la seguridad jurídica para el private sector. The growing influence of Paula Spanish as virtual Minister Plenipotentiary of the Economy, he will surely not fit into this potential rapprochement.

The good news is that the screams and indifference of the Trump administration seem to have been replaced by the usual “soft power” of a Democratic administration. In any case, this political change is not a guarantee in itself, as bilateral relations within the Obama administration were bad due to the erratic foreign policy of Cristina Kirchner.

Last stop in Moscow

Economy said that after confirming a series of meetings, “the last part of the European tour will take place in the city of Moscow where the presidential adviser, Cecilia Nicolini, and with whom they will advance in deepening the relationship of strategic cooperation with Russia ”. In addition, in the Russian capital “Guzmán will hold a meeting with his Russian finance counterpart, Anton Siluanov, and with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ”.

“At these meetings, the minister will engage with the Russian authorities on negotiations with the IMF and the need to advance the rules so that there is an increase in global liquidity for middle-income countries.”

Too, “He also plans to hold meetings to advance country collaboration for vaccine production, to invest in the production of Sputnik V against COVID-19 in Argentina.”

Remember that Laboratorios Richmond has launched a trust for its new biotechnology plant, where it will contribute to the manufacture of the Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina. In this sense, on Monday, a cargo of 170 kilos from Moscow landed at Ezeiza airport to begin to assess analytical and productive processes.

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