FinMin: IMF Technical Team to Visit Egypt ‘Within Days’
Egyptian Finance Minister Al-Morsi Al-Sayed Hegazy said in a conference on Sunday a technical team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will visit Egypt “within the coming few days, Al Ahram gazette reported.
On March 17th, the IMF technical team has arrived in Egypt Sunday morning so as to reopen negotiations with the Egyptian government on the $4.8 billion loan widely seen as crucial to salvaging its damaged economy after almost two years of political turbulence.
After holding the talks, the top official Masood Ahmed said he welcomes the Egyptian government’s determination to move forward with their economic reform program.
The IMF has in the past pushed for reforms in taxation and subsidies before granting loans. Egypt sees the loan as a lifeline to boost critically low foreign reserves and lure back foreign investors.
Egypt has been holding negotiations with the IMF for multiple months seeking to obtain a loan resulting in reaching an initial agreement last November. The IMF has then postponed the talks requesting the government to amend its economic reform program. The talks were resumed with the country in January over the amended reform program agreeing to make their next meeting be scheduled for Sunday, March 17th.
