International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Christine Lagarde is in Egypt in an attempt to restart halted talks over a US$3.2bn aid package for the country’s struggling economy.
The IMF chief will meet with Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi and his newly appointed cabinet during two days of talks.
Egyptian Finance Minister Momtaz el-Said said that Egypt wishes to raise the loan to US$4.8bn in a bid to cover budget deficits caused by declining income from tourism and foreign investment revenues due to political upheaval.
Previous talks with the IMF were halted due to disagreement within Egypt’s leadership, although a consensus could be more likely due to a new president and cabinet.
Earlier this month, Qatar granted Egypt a US$2bn loan in an effort to help support the country’s flagging economy.
Saudi Arabia in May transferred US$1bn into Egypt’s central bank. The country’s Planning Minister told Reuters that “coordination was ongoing” with Saudi Arabia about a US$2.7bn aid package.
Follow us on
