International Monetary Fund (IMF) Communications Department Director Julie Kozack announced at the regular press briefing on July 9 that IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva will visit Argentina and Uruguay later this month. The Uruguayan government subsequently confirmed that Georgieva will arrive in Montevideo on Thursday, July 30.
The visit comes at the invitation of Uruguay’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). According to the official schedule released by the Uruguayan Presidency, Georgieva will hold meetings with President Yamandú Orsi, Minister of Economy and Finance Gabriel Oddone, and Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU) Governor Guillermo Tolosa. Tolosa also serves as Uruguay’s Governor at the IMF.
In addition to high-level government meetings, Georgieva will attend the Annual Economics Conference (Jornadas Anuales de Economía) hosted by the Central Bank of Uruguay, which will take place from July 27 to 30. Her itinerary also includes a discussion with representatives of the private sector.
Technical cooperation is a key backdrop to the visit. According to the Central Bank of Uruguay, the country is currently receiving IMF technical assistance in multiple areas, including “strengthening the fiscal framework, improving tax administration efficiency, refining monetary policy tools, and enhancing balance of payments and national accounts statistics.” The Central Bank stated that “the meetings will help deepen the dialogue between Uruguay and the IMF on the country’s economic priorities, as well as opportunities to further strengthen economic resilience, promote sustainable growth, and foster more inclusive development”.
Notably, this marks the first visit by an IMF Managing Director to Uruguay in 15 years, since the visit of then-Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn in 2011. The Orsi administration took office in March 2025, marking the return of the Frente Amplio coalition to power. In its 2025 Article IV Consultation report, the IMF noted that the new government’s agenda aims to “strike a balance between inclusive growth and macroeconomic stability, promote private investment, and strengthen social protection”.
Georgieva is a Bulgarian economist who has served as IMF Managing Director since 2019 and previously served as CEO of the World Bank. In addition to Uruguay, her Latin American tour also includes Argentina. The 2026 IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from October 12 to 18.