“France is by your side”

(Paris-Special Envoy) President Alberto Fernández is in Paris this Wednesday, where he had a breakfast with businessmen who invest in Argentina and then arrived at the Elysee Palace to share a lunch with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. Their meeting takes place as part of his tour of Europe, which he has decided to extend by one day and will leave Rome for Buenos Aires on Saturday at noon.

In a joint statement, the French president supported Argentina in its negotiations with the IMF and the Paris Club, while speaking of “working together” in this and other fields.

“We want Argentina to reach an agreement with the IMF for a program that restores macroeconomic stability to your country. I know what your country’s efforts are. France is by your side. We want Argentina to speak constructively with the Paris Club creditors and we will continue this work together, we will continue to discuss, ”Macron said.

At his side, Fernández thanked Macron for his support and said: “Both in negotiations with private creditors and with the Paris Club and the IMF, France has always been with us. We are going to speak like the good friends that we are. to be a successful meeting as they have all been ”.

Both agreed on their “concern” regarding issues of climate change and gender equality.

Fernández, who has been received with the honors of a state visit – although it is a bilateral working meeting – has promised to participate in the Generation Equality Forum, which will be held from June 30 to 2 July in Paris and to which the French himself was invited.

Macron also spoke of the global coronavirus crisis and called for “solidarity treatment” of the pandemic, after which he reported that France had pledged to give Covax 500,000 doses by the end of June, which should give priority to “low-income countries” but also to “all beneficiary countries, including Argentina”.

So far, the president’s agenda culminated on Friday with the seminar at the Vatican, in which Minister Martín Guzmán will take a leading role linked to negotiations with the IMF.

However, the tour extension gives rise to the supposed reunion face to face that the Head of State would have this Friday with Kristalina Georgieva, Director of the IMF, in the Italian capital. In the official procession, the conclave was given almost as a fact.

On Thursday Fernández will have an audience with Pope Francis in the Paul IV Hall of the Vatican. Later, he will meet the Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, and the President of that country, Sergio Mattarella.

The agenda in Paris

After receiving support from Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa and Spanish President Pedro Sánchez, Fernández arrived in France on Tuesday afternoon. The main objective is to gain support for the key negotiation that the country maintains with the Paris Club.

The idea of ​​the Argentine delegation is to move forward as much as possible (if not to close it) in a “relay agreement” with this organization. It is that at the end of the month, a little more than 2 billion dollars are due and the government seeks to refinance this amount and to postpone the payment while negotiating with the IMF.

Before their meeting on Wednesday, Fernández gave strong support to the Minister of the Economy, Martín Guzmán, questioned in recent days, mainly from hard Kirchnerism.

“Martin has worked a lot on this and I think we are making good progress,” Fernández said in the lobby of the hotel where he is staying in the French capital.

The president held a meeting with French businessmen investing in Argentina on Wednesday at the headquarters of the embassy in Paris, thus starting his official activity in France, the third stop on his tour in Europe.

The businessmen who attended the meeting – which lasted an hour – were Arnaud Breuillac (Total), Laurent Dassault (Dassault), Eric Scotto (Akuo Energy), Christel Bories (Eramet), David Corchia (Total Eren) , Raphael Latz (Louis Dreyfus Company), Jean-Louis Girodolle (Lazard) and Facundo Etchebehere (Danone).

During the meeting, the president explained to the businessmen the reasons for his tour in Europe and “what he has already talked about (the first from Portugal, António) Costa and with (the president of the Spanish government, Pedro) Sánchez “.

Fernández had already met these same eight businessmen during his previous stay in France, before the pandemic, at a meeting attended by 30 leaders of the sector.

Last month, the eight businessmen met Economy Minister Martín Guzmán in France during a tour he had made in Europe.

Guzmán also participated in the meeting; Minister of Foreign Affairs Felipe Solá; and the Secretary General of the Presidency, Julio Vitobello.

JPE