Economy Minister Sergio Massa announced on Tuesday afternoon that the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will loan Argentina US$ 1.31 billion. The minister confirmed the loan at a press conference at IDB headquarters in Washington, D.C, following a meeting with its director Ilan Goldfjan.

“The main objective of this is to complete a quota of US$ 1.3 billion between now and the end of the year thanks to additional financing from the World Bank and the IDB,” Massa said. “This is fundamental for Argentina to continue strengthening reserves, but also to continue financing development projects.”

Argentina is going through a major international reserve scarcity crisis, caused mainly by a historic drought that slashed some US$20 billion in agricultural exports. Net reserves are calculated at negative US$10 billion.

US$450 million from the World Bank will go toward welfare programs Tarjeta Alimentar (food aid) and Universal Instalment per Child (AUH), bolstering the Social Development Ministry’s budget. Another US$200 million are destined for the Economy Ministry in order to finance imports and exports by small and medium-sized enterprises.