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The United Nations General Assembly approved Thurday a proposal presented by Argentina to restructure its debt through a sovereign framework with 136 votes in favor.
"It is a top priority to create a legal framework, with the aim of increasing efficiency, stability and predictability in the international financial system and the achievement of an equitable, inclusive growth," argued G77 President Sacha Llorenti Soliz in defence of Argentina's posture in the “vulture funds” dispute.
The new legal framework will allow Argentina to take sovereign control of its outstanding debt.
Economic Minister Axel Kicillof described the approval as a victory for all countries, arguing, “This is a fundamental step to ensure no other country suffers. It is a step towards a better world – a world without vulture funds.”
Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman said the vote proved that the United Nations had power to change “world history.”
“It has been said that this was not the correct forum but it is the only forum that has changed world history because it is a democratic forum where every country has a vioce and every country has a vote,” he said.
Five countries reversed their vote to vote in favor of the Argentine proposal.
Argentina's Ambassador at the U.N. María Cristina Perceval said before the meeting that the vote would have a huge political impact.
“The soveriegn community of states will be hard to ingore after today's vote,” said Perceval.
“It's a very important day today for Argentina and its economy and the fight against the vulture vunds,” said teleSUR's Argentina correspondent Leonel Poblete Codutti.
According to Codutti, the proposal was presented to the U.N. last year by Bolivia on behalf of the group of 77 nations and that the the framework includes nine key principles to avoid actions of the vulture funds.
Amid the principles was that sovereign countries would have the right to design their own macro economic policy, including restructuring its own soverign debt.
The United States, UK, Japan, Australia, and Germany were among the few countries that voted against the proposal last year.
Read more about Argentina’s battle with the "Vulture Fund” creditors
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