MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina recovering from the global crisis, says World Bank

Augusto de la Torre, World Bank chief economist

Argentina's economy is recovering from the global financial crisis in step with the international community, Augusto de la Torre, chief economist of the World Bank, said during a conference in Miami.

“The worst time of the crisis has already passed, and the world economy will recover, at least in short terms, in mid 2010” de la Torre was quoted by Buenos Aires daily La Nacion as saying.

In August, Argentina's industrial production index rose 1.4% on the month, showing signs of recovery from the financial crisis.

Some countries such as China and Brazil had weathered the current financial crisis, and Latinamerican countries should avail themselves of this opportunity to strengthen relations with them, de la Torre said.

Argentina has abundant natural resources, which was an advantage over other countries in tackling the financial crisis, and they should help Argentina rejoin the global financial market, he added.

Moreover, many Latinamerican countries had survived the crisis without too much damage to their economic systems, and had even become relatively attractive regions for investments, de la Torre observed.

Among countries mentioned as having reached the bottom and ready to recover the World Bank mentioned Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Uruguay.

But the region's future growth would depend not only on its domestic policies, but also on the recovery of the world economy, he concluded.