A new agreement with the IMF is a key requirement for the Argentine government to lift capital controls, return to international markets and get an economy in recession back on track.

The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, has assured that he will "certainly" reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the end of the year, which is the first indication of a new negotiating calendar.

The president made this statement when asked by Bloomberg at the end of his bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, where both leaders will attend the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games.

The comment also came after Economy Minister Luis Caputo held a "constructive meeting" with IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday.

A new deal with the IMF is a key requirement for Milei's government to lift capital controls, return to international markets and get a recession-hit economy back on track.

Milei hopes to replace the IMF's current $44 billion program -- the Washington lender's largest -- with a new program that could include more money not only to pay the IMF, but to lift capital controls.

Strict controls in Argentina make it almost impossible for companies or individuals to move dollars out of the country and discourage investment amid a deepening recession.

Although the Fund has expressed confidence in Argentina's economic trajectory, it has long insisted on a more flexible exchange rate.

Currently, the official exchange rate is far behind monthly inflation due to the government's currency controls, leading economists to claim that the peso has become overvalued.

To combat the growing difference between the official and parallel rates, Argentine authorities have begun to intervene in currency markets, another practice that the Fund does not usually view favorably.