Argentine Calls for National Round Table

BUENOS AIRES —  Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde announced plans for a national dialogue on the nation’s financial woes Monday even as he struggled to ease a hated banking freeze and win the support of foreign lenders for his efforts.

“We will work together without flagging and with renewed hope,” Duhalde said on national television late Monday.

The dialogue will bring together political, business, labor and church leaders to confront joblessness, government spending, corruption and other key issues, he said.

“I wish to be one more worker in the dialogue,” Duhalde said.

An International Monetary Fund delegation arrived in Buenos Aires on Monday to work with Argentine leaders to gather information about the country’s finances and offer technical assistance on efforts to rebuild the economy.

Saying the government wasn’t doing enough to rein in spending, the IMF withheld $1.2 billion in badly needed aid last month as the Argentine economy careened out of control.