IMF didn’t require Egypt to lift bread, energy subsidies to unlock loan – minister

Egypt’s Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on Monday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) did not require lifting bread or energy subsidies, and the talks over the loan are still ongoing.

“The IMF has not required any cancellation of the Central Bank of Egypt’s initiatives … the Fund may just interfere in the mechanism of managing these initiatives.” Maait added.

The minister further said that the Egyptian government had decided to reach a new cooperation with the IMF at technical level only, but with the ongoing global economic uncertainties, authorities were forced to negotiate on a financial cooperation as well.