The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it postponed a visit to Cairo in mid-December for security reasons but plans to meet with officials here in January.
The fund’s experts have maintained communication with Egyptian officials since their last visit in November, when they discussed ways to cope with the country's economic challenges and how the IMF can offer support, fund spokesperson Wafaa Amer told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
An International Cooperation and Planning Ministry source initially told Al-Masry Al-Youm in a story published Monday that the IMF had canceled a trip planned for January to negotiate a US$3.2 billion loan.
In May, then-Prime Minister Essam Sharaf’s cabinet halted its negotiations with the IMF over a US$3 billion aid package, which carried an interest rate of 1.5 percent for three years. The ruling military council rejected the loan, saying it did not want to increase Egypt's debt burden, but worsening economic problems and a growing budget deficit have prompted the council to reconsider.
Amer added that it’s still too early to discuss procedures related to Egypt's potential acceptance of an IMF loan.
The IMF says it has budgeted $35 billion for Middle East and North African countries following a year of political unrest that ousted leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
