Ecuador has rebuilt its relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a body with which it aims to reach a sustainable agreement over time, said Tuesday the Minister of Economy and Finance Richard Martinez.
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"We have come closer in our positions compared to what we had years ago with the IMF … we have a lot to rebuild and this is part of a process," Martinez said at a press conference in Quito, in which he reviewed the results of Ecuador’s participation at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Martinez acknowledged that although "the urgency of things could demand a greater speed" in obtaining concrete financing from the IMF, it should "seek a solid solution" with the multilateral agency which he said was more than a "lender."
Ecuador maintained during the decade of the government of former President Rafael Correa a cold relationship with the neoliberal body, which Correa had accused of violating the sovereignty of countries by imposing harsh austerity conditions in return for loans, which prompted his government to cut all ties with the organization.
However, the government of Lenin Moreno has now been trying to reestablish relations with the IMF over the past year, with most recently as part of a meeting held in Davos by Moreno IMF director Christine Lagarde
"The most important thing is for the agreement to be sustainable over time and be complied with, the positions reached and the relationship rebuilt," he argued before reiterating that "the main pillar" of the country is dollarization and that the financing options with Ecuador would strengthen its position.
Although he mentioned that the IMF could agree on a "potential financing" to the country, "if the conditions are favorable for the parties," he stressed that currently, the government has identified alternative sources and that they would cover 90 percent of internal and external needs. planned for this year, coming from multilateral funds.
However, he added that this "does not mean that if there is an agreement (with the IMF) the country will not receive resources," and said that the issue of investment is not an option, "but a requirement to remain competitive " on an international level.
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