Egypt’s FJP Yet To Decide On IMF Loan

The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) will study the terms of the proposed International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan before announcing its position on the matter, Mohamed Gouda, official spokesperson of the party’s economic affairs committee, said in a statement on Thursday.

The FJP rejected an IMF loan in March 2012 because the government did not provide information on its terms or how it would be paid back or spent, Gouda added.

“The FJP did not reject or approve the loan per se. Now, it seeks to ask the current government about the loan’s terms, how it will be used in investment projects, and how it will be repaid,” the statement on the Muslim Brotherhood’s official website added.

Gouda said that after obtaining such information, the FJP would study the facts and announce its stance with regard to the loan.

“There has been no communication between the FJP and the government, so far. No information about the loan has been received. The FJP will hold a meeting after obtaining the relevant data then announce its final position.”

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, concluded her one-day visit to Egypt on Wednesday after meeting with President Mohamed Morsi, Prime Minister Hisham Qandil, the Egyptian finance minister and the rest of the government’s economy team.

Lagarde said in a statement that an IMF technical team would visit Egypt in September to study the Egyptian government’s economic programme.

Dozens of demonstrators, meanwhile, protested outside the Cabinet building in downtown Cairo on Wednesday during Lagarde’s visit. Protestors, consisting mainly of leftist and revolutionaries, called on Egypt to reject the loan.

Ahram