Good News About IMF Egypt Loan Soon: Presidential Secretary

Good news with regard to the International Money Fund loan to Egypt will be announced soon, Secretary to the President for Foreign Relations Khaled Qazaz said during a visit to Washington to follow up with the IMF.

An Egyptian presidential delegation, headed by the Presidential Assistant for Political Affairs Bakinam al-Sahrqawi, is currently visiting Washington to discuss the IMF loan and the economic program proposed by the Egyptian government.

Qazaz said that Mohamed Tawfik, Egypt’s ambassador to the United States, hosted a number of meetings for the delegation. The first was an interfaith dialogue, while the second was a meeting with leading figures of the Egyptian community in America.

“Following in the footsteps of President Mohamed Morsy, we know how important it is to meet and communicate with the Egyptian community, to listen to their views and involve them in what’s going on at home,” Qazaz said.

In the light of comments US Secretary of State John Kerry made during a recent visit to Egypt about a US aid package, the delegation held a meeting with US State Department officials to discuss the matter.

The significance of the visit, Qazaz said, lies less in the specific funding, but was more about the “positive signal” sent to potential investors and donors, who can be reassured that Egypt is becoming stabilized.

Mechanisms through which to encourage investment in addition to how to encourage Egyptian expatriates to contribute were both matters tackled on the visit, Qazaz told state news agency MENA.

Qazaz also said that the delegation held two meetings in the US Senate, while the ambassador hosted a meeting for the delegation with a group of members of Congress.

Egypt Independent