IMF reviews Egypt budget 2016/17 terms: FinMin

The International Monetary Fund team mission is currently reviewing with the Egyptian government the terms of the country’s state budget 2016-2017, to ensure steps to achieve targeted figures.

Egyptian Minister of Finance Amr el-Garhy further told reporters the talks with the IMF are in good progress. The IMF mission will stay for further 10 to 12 days in Cairo, el-Garhy said.

“We are making good progress in negotiations with the IMF,” El Garhy said at a news conference on Thursday. The talks with the IMF delegation, which are expected to continue until mid-August, relate to the current budget, he said.

“We want to achieve the figures we set for the budget … This is what we are discussing with the IMF,” Garhy said.

Egyptian officials are holding talks in Cairo with the IMF over a loan to help finance the government’s economic programme. Egypt is seeking $12 billion over three years.

In the 2016-2017 budget, Egyptian government targets economic growth of 5.2 percent versus 4.4 percent in 2015-2016. The deficit is projected to reach 9.8 percent versus 11.5 percent in the former financial years 2015-2016 and 2014-5015.