Argentina seeks Paris Club deal amid IMF talks, Guzmán says

Argentina is pressing the Paris Club to renegotiate debt with the South American country as separate talks to strike a deal with the International Monetary Fund drag on, La Nación reported, citing Economy Minister Martín Guzmán.

Guzmán said in the interview with the newspaper that Argentina was working to postpone or refinance upcoming debt payments with the group of wealthy countries to avoid “a shock that damages the economy at a time when it is recovering.”

Efforts to reach a deal with the Paris Club were complicated because of the group’s request for Argentina to first reach a deal with the IMF, Guzmán said.

Argentina and its biggest creditors have begun ironing out possible revisions to the country’s US$65-billion debt restructuring proposal before crucial bond payments come due later this month.

The country is seeking to renegotiate US$45 billion of debt with the IMF, though Guzmán said he’s doubtful a deal would be reached by May even with the progress made. “It’s happening, but it may take time,” he said.

“Argentina is today in a situation in which we must have negotiations that allow us to postpone those maturities or refinance them and thus be able to give course to the continuity of the economic recovery,” he told the newspaper. “There is a question of timing.”