IMF officials said on Thursday they had made headway in negotiations with Argentine Economy Minister Martin Guzman on a new loan package for the country as it grapples with an economic crisis made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. The discussions between Guzman and Julie Kozack, IMF deputy director for the western hemisphere, and Luis Cubeddu, mission chief for Argentina reached "a common understanding of the need for macroeconomic sustainability and for safeguarding the post-Covid recovery underway," the Washington based-crisis lender said in a statement. "The Argentine authorities and the IMF team made progress in defining some key principles that could underpin an economic program to help address Argentina's near- and medium-term challenges," it added. The two sides had a "shared recognition of the importance of policies to boost value-added exports and productivity," to improve Buenos Aires's international reserves and help the economy improve growth and become more resilient. "The Argentine authorities and the team also concurred that the ongoing development of the domestic capital market would be critical for Argentina to sustainably finance much-needed investment and strengthen its overall resilience." Argentina and the International Monetary Fund have been in discussions for months to agree on a suite of reform measures that could unlock new funding to help the country recover from its economic crisis. Even prior to the pandemic, the South American nation was facing a severe economic crisis despite massive IMF aid in recent years. The government of President Alberto Fernandez is aiming to renegotiate repayments on a $44 billion loan received from the IMF in 2018. cs/bgs