Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez said on Monday 1st that the Federal Government will not to rush into a $44 billion debt deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) despite the concerns that a previously set May to sign an agreement will be missed, reported Reuters. 

Accordint to the news, Fernandez, said to Congress that Argentina would also investigate the previous agreement with the IMF, which he has criticized for exacerbating debt levels. The President also said that the Federal Government is focused on resuming economic growth, which was deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“We will continue our negotiations with full focus and with the firmness we have always shown, we do not want to rush. Our government’s only hurry is to put production and work back on its feet in order to improve the situation of millions of Argentine families that have been plunged into the pit of poverty”, Fernandez said. 

The Fernandez administration is looking to strike a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to pay debts of up to $ 44 billion and to help cover its upcoming obligations to the IMF.

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The long-term program that Argentina requested from the IMF would extend the payment of the debt by up to a decade, including $ 5 billion whose payment deadline ends in 2021.

The prospect of closing the deal only at the end of the year worries investors, who see the agreement as the key to the country’s economic recovery.