CAIRO: The Egyptian government resumed negotiations yesterday with the International Monetary Fund on a loan to help the country shore up public finances that have haemorrhaged since its popular uprising.
Many foreign investors are waiting for an IMF agreement before venturing back to Egypt. Cairo has asked for a $4.8bn loan, but officials have said it might seek more.
An IMF team, which held an initial round of talks with the new government of President Mohammed Mursi in late August, returned to Cairo on Tuesday. Various Egyptian governments have been negotiating for an IMF loan for the last year and a half.
“The talks started with the Egyptian authorities,” IMF spokeswoman Wafa Amr said, without giving details. Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said Egypt had presented its programme of economic reforms to the IMF, also giving no details. His comments were carried on a website of the Muslim Brotherhood, the group that propelled Mursi to power.
Reuters
