IMF board approves new $20 billion Argentina bailout
WASHINGTON
The International Monetary Fund has approved a new four-year $20 billion bailout for Argentina to support President Javier Milei's aggressive efforts to revive the fortunes of the Latin American country.
"The program is expected to help catalyze additional official multilateral and bilateral support, and a timely re-access to international capital markets," the IMF said in a statement.
The executive board's decision makes an initial disbursement of $12 billion immediately available to Argentina, with the first review of the program scheduled for June this year.
"It is a vote of confidence in the Government's determination to advance reforms, foster growth & deliver higher standards of living for the Argentine people," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva wrote in a social media post on X shortly after the board's decision was published.
The new agreement marks a big win for Milei, Argentina's populist self-described "anarcho-capitalist" president, who has built close ties to senior officials in Donald Trump's orbit, including the billionaire Elon Musk.
It is the 23rd time the IMF has bailed out Argentina since it became a member of the Washington-based institution in 1956.
Minutes before the IMF statement arrived on Friday, the World Bank announced a separate "support package" of measures worth some $12 billion.
The package, which includes commitments from three different World Bank bodies, "is designed to support reforms that continue to attract private investment and further boost the measures being implemented by the national government to promote job creation," the Bank said in a statement.
