CAPUTO PRESIDED THE NINTH MEETING OF IDB FINANCE MINISTERS

Finance Minister Luis Caputo presided this afternoon in Washington, the 9th Meeting of Ministers of Finance of the Americas and the Caribbean of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in his capacity as Governor before the agency. Before the representatives of more than 30 countries, the Minister referred to the global perspectives for economic growth, financial inclusion and regional integration.


In this context, Caputo thanked the President of the entity, Luis Alberto Moreno, the confidence that the organization has given to Argentina in the face of the reforms being carried out by President Mauricio Macri. "The IDB is one of our best strategic allies in the agenda that we undertake in my country to normalize the economy," said the minister, while emphasizing that "Argentina has been recovering the world's trust for almost two years, doing the work there is what to do to be a predictable economy, attractive for investment and sustained growth. "

Caputo also referred to the work done by the Ministry of Finance to create the conditions under which companies can invest and obtain financing through credit promotion, capital market reform and financial inclusion processes for SMEs. "We are also creating conditions of sufficient predictability to build a trustworthy alliance between the public and private sectors with the Public Private Participation (PPP) projects that drive the infrastructure we need respecting fiscal discipline," he added.

The official addressed his peers in the region and said that "without structural reforms we will not be able to make the well-being won by the population in the region in the last years be maintained in the long term."

In this sense, he called for "seizing the moment to consolidate the social change we live and to fight poverty in the region" and stated that "to win market in world trade and be competitive we need to invest and to do so we need a dynamic financial system and strong".


"Finance ministers have a responsibility to create the right financial conditions for capital to flow into infrastructure and entrepreneurship that will make our economies more competitive. Only in this way will our position in the world's trade and economy improve. That is the basis of the well-being of citizens, "explained Caputo.

Among the speakers at the opening session were the IDB president; the deputy managing director of the IMF, Mitsuhiro Furusawa; the Vice President of the World Bank, Jorge Familiar; and US Undersecretary of the Treasury, David Malpass.


After delivering his keynote speech, the finance minister participated in the panel "Global Perspectives for Economic Growth", where he said that "it is fundamental that we take this moment to face institutional, regulatory and market reforms that attract private investment and contribute to sustain growth in the long term. "


Later, Caputo was part of the panel on "Financial Inclusion and Regional Integration" with the Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia, Mauricio Cárdenas, the Minister of Economy and Finance of Panama, Dulcidio de la Guardia. There, he emphasized financial inclusion "as a tool to boost SME savings and investment, boost innovative entrepreneurship, and enlarge and make the financial and banking system more competitive."


There, Caputo emphasized the creation of the Financial Inclusion Council in Argentina and the promotion of the Social Capital Fund (FONCAP) as an executing arm of the microcredit policies.

Ministers from the region agreed that it is necessary to improve the efficiency of spending at the national level, increase investments in strategic sectors such as infrastructure and education, and promote financial inclusion, with particular attention to the gender perspective. They also highlighted the opportunities for regional cooperation to promote platforms to reduce the cost of financing, deeper trade integration, and collective initiatives to take advantage of new technologies.