Ecuadornews:
Three issues were addressed yesterday at the meeting held by President Lenin Moreno and managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, within the framework of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Me reuní con Christine @Lagarde, Gerente del FMI, con quien intercambiamos opiniones sobre la perspectiva económica mundial y de Ecuador. Además, se destacó el modelo económico que está tomando el país para generar más empleo y prosperidad a los ecuatorianos. #EcuadorEnDavos 🇪🇨🇨🇭 pic.twitter.com/4ACsDSb92k
— Lenín Moreno (@Lenin) 23 de enero de 2019
The issues, to say the Minister of Economy and Finance, Richard Martinez, who was also present at the meeting, had to do with the evaluation of the technical assistance provided by the IMF to the country.
Likewise, there was a dialogue about what is happening in the region and the importance that the turn of the economic model that Ecuador is taking to get out of the socialism of the 21st century has fruits, to give more prosperity and employment to the Ecuadorians, and that this can be done infect in the region.
Finally the issue of financing was analyzed, in which the position of Ecuador has been that if the Government observes that the IMF can accompany this prosperity plan that seeks to lower the deficit, but protecting the poorest, an agreement can be reached.
The minister also assured that the IMF has recognized the political decision of President Moreno to take deferred actions for a long time, such as the review of subsidies, efforts to reduce the deficit and, at the same time, the protection of the most vulnerable.
Regarding the meeting, Christine Lagarde said that, after a useful exchange of views on the prospects of the world economy and Ecuador, “I underscored my support for President Moreno’s reform efforts for his strong focus on protecting the poorest sectors of Ecuadorian society. In the future, the decisive political steps of the authorities will be fundamental to address the key challenges facing Ecuador’s economy. “
Alberto Acosta Burneo, editor of Análisis Semanal, explained that this meeting with a high representative of the IMF is definitely a step towards the search for an agreement and shows that the Government is thinking seriously about it.
He also said that attention should be paid to the message from the representative of the IMF, who stressed the importance of future measures taken by the Government.
For Acosta, if the agreements were given, Ecuador could get about $ 10 billion from the IMF, but three years from now and the disbursements would be made as long as the plan to put the house in order is met.
He explained that the advantage of IMF financing is that the markets will see that a reliable third party backs the country’s figures and will begin to lower the country risk.
In this way, the Government can go to the capital market and issue bonds for the remaining financing it requires. For 2019 alone, Ecuador needs about $ 9,000 million in financing.
The country risk of Ecuador to January 22 was set at 707 points, according to the Central Bank of Ecuador. (I)
