During a press conference yesterday, Presidential Technical Secretary Juan Temistocles Montas announced the successful negotiation of a EUR150-million emergency soft loan financial assistance package from Spain, to be disbursed as soon as the IMF agreement is resumed. According to the report in Hoy newspaper, he said these funds are intended for infrastructure projects and that Spain was making an exception to its usual condition that Spanish companies participate in the construction of such infrastructure.
In addition to Montas, Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa, economic advisor to the Executive Branch Julio Ortega Tous and Superintendent of Banks Rafael Camilo also traveled to Spain for the talks. Montas explained to the media that negotiations in Spain had included several Spanish government departments. He mentioned the high-ranking Spanish government officials who participated in drawing up the financial package, namely the chief of the economic office of the Presidency, Miguel Sebastian; the trade minister of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, Pedro Mejia, the director of international financing of the Ministry of Economy & Finance, Ramon Guzman; the director of trade and investment of the Ministry of Industry, Oscar Via Ozalla; the Latin American economic advisor to the Presidency, Jorge Blazquez Lidoy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Emilio Fernandez Castano.