MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Climate change tops agenda during encounter between Argentine, US officials

Beliz and Sullivan acknowledged ”the importance of advancing in a successful negotiation with the IMF

Argentina's Secretary of Strategic Affairs Gustavo Beliz and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held a meeting in Washington DC to discuss the climate change agenda and the current negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, it was reported.

Beliz and Sullivan agreed “on the promotion of a shared agenda and a strategic dialogue centred on innovation, technology and climate change.“ They also ”ratified the will of their respective presidents, Joseph Biden and Alberto Fernández, to promote common actions aimed at facilitating the fastest recovery in Argentina,“ according to a press statement.

Both officials acknowledged ”the importance of advancing in a successful negotiation with the IMF, which contributes to a sustainable debt and long-term inclusive growth.“ They also agreed to ”advance a roadmap for bilateral cooperation“ established at the meeting held in August in Buenos Aires, with the purpose ”of accelerating the development of a knowledge economy with social and gender inclusion and promoting new social investments, environmentally sustainable in terms of artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, federal connectivity, inclusion and technological diversity”.

Talks were also focused on “joint efforts to address the urgency of climate change, leveraging international financial institutions to promote an ecological and equitable economic recovery from the Covid -19 pandemic,” it was reported.

Both officials also addressed the issue of public-private strategic dialogues on topics such as “innovation and economy 4.0 and climate change, with a focus on energy transition, circular economy, biotechnology and sustainable agriculture” in addition to “the problem of vulnerable middle-income countries and explored new alternatives for the strengthening of multilateral development banks, debt relief and the better use of special drawing rights, including the elimination of surcharges.”

During his trip to Washington, Beliz also worked with multilateral development banks to broaden the agenda of support programs for Argentina. Beliz highlighted the projects approved for Argentina for “their federal perspective, focused on the agenda of adaptation and implementation to climate change, digital innovation, connectivity and technology, artificial intelligence, human development with social inclusion and the promotion of the 4.0 economy.”

The official mission also included participation in the 25th Annual CAF Conference, which was accompanied by a working meeting with the main executives of the multilateral development banks, where the secretary presented “concrete alternatives in terms of financial innovation for capitalization development institutions using IMF special drawing rights (SDRs) ”.

(Source: Infobae)