MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula promises to help his “friend” Alberto Fernández

Alberto may fly back to Argentina calmer, Lula said. “It is true that without any money, but with a lot of political disposition...”

Argentine President Alberto Fernández Tuesday thanked his Brazilian colleague Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for the latter's commitment to helping Argentine overcome the current crisis: “I celebrate the explicit support that Lula has given us as a country and as a government,” Fernández said after the meeting at the Alvorada Palace. He also highlighted Lula's pledge to strengthen Brazilian exports and support negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Next week “the team of Minister [Fernando] Haddad and the team of Minister [Sergio] Massa will meet to find the points of agreement” with the aim of “being able to implement those credits that guarantee the production of Brazilian companies that export to Argentina,” Fernández explained.

“In the years that preceded the return of President Lula, Brazil lost a lot in exports with respect to Argentina, and that was basically because China financed Chinese companies that won over the market. And, since Lula and I are convinced of the need to strengthen Mercosur, what I want is for Brazil to recover that lost ground, and today we have taken a very, very important step,” the Argentine President went on before highlighting “the explicit position that the Brazilian government has taken on Argentina and the IMF.”

“We are re-discussing with the Fund the program that we committed to at the time because objectively conditions have changed, not only the war, but also the drought. And knowing that we can now count on Brazil's support is very important for us,” Fernández also pointed out.

Lula underscored his commitment with “my friend Alberto Fernández to do everything so that we can help Argentina in this difficult moment”, and assured that “I intend to work through my Minister of Finance with the Monetary Fund to take the knife out of Argentina's neck,” a country that “only wants to grow, generate jobs and improve the lives of the people.”

Brazil “is going to discuss with Brazilian businessmen who export to Argentina and with the Brazilian National Congress to see what can be done, so that we can help to find a solution”, and that exports and imports between Brazil and Argentina “can continue to grow, because everyone is interested in that,” Lula also said.

The Brazilian president also underlined that Argentina was “the main trading partner of all South America”, and recalled that while the Workers' Party ruled Brazil “we had a trade flow of 39 billion dollars. This is possible when both economies are working. And that is what we want to build with Argentina.”

He also insisted that the ultimate goal was “to help Brazilian businessmen to export to Argentina and to finance their exports, as China does with its products.”

“We are going to do everything in our power to try to solve the economic problems that exist and for Argentina to become a prosperous economy again,” he also pointed out.

Lula said Fernández could fly back to Argentine “calmer”: “It is true that without any money, but with a lot of political disposition,” he added.