MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bush praises Kirchner's record in a “candid” interview

President George W. Bush said on Friday after meeting with host president Nestor Kirchner that the excellent record of the Argentine economy “is such now that he can take his case to the IMF with a much stronger hand”.

Apparently President Kirchner asked Mr. Bush for support in requesting that the IMF adopt a "different attitude towards Argentina".

The IMF is demanding changes in the current Argentine economic policy which the Argentine government refuses point blank to accept. But the Kirchner administration needs to reach an agreement with the IMF on the 11.5 billion US dollars pending debt, of which 1,6 billion are due before the end of the year, and negotiations are stalled.

President Kirchner described talks with his US counterpart as a quest for truth, not necessarily "placid". In a subsequent joint appearance before reporters the two leaders said that they had discussed a range of bilateral and regional issues.

Both presidents characterized the encounter as "candid," which in diplomatic-speak usually indicates the existence of disagreement.

The two men are among leaders from 34 Western Hemisphere countries taking part in the IV Summit of the Americas in the South Atlantic resort of Mar del Plata.

Bush praised President Kirchner on the "wise decisions" which have put Argentina on the path to recovery after the 2001 economic and financial meltdown.

Bush also spoke of the cultural heritage shared by the United States and Argentina and expressed gratitude for Argentine basketball star Manu Ginobili's role in helping the Texas San Antonio Spurs to two NBA titles in the past three seasons.

More substantively, Bush said that "Argentina and the United States have a lot in common. We both believe in rule of law. We both believe in minority rights. We both believe in free press. We both believe in freedom of religion. We both understand that institutions are important for the betterment of people, democratic institutions".

"At times those institutions have been under assault in our two countries, and it's important as leaders of our countries - elected leaders - to stand up and defend those institutions", underlined President Bush also stressed the importance of the rule of law in attracting investment and fostering economic growth.

It is vital "that when a person makes an investment, that there is not certainty of success, but certainty that the rules won't change; that when a government fights corruption, that government sends a signal to investors, large and small, that this is a good place to take risk", continued President Bush.

However President Kirchner shed no further light on the discussions only saying that the talks had been "candid" and that the two presidents listened to each other's views. "I come away satisfied, it was not a meeting where placidity was sought, but rather truth".