Aswat Masriya (Cairo)

Egypt: Mursi Meets IMF Delegation On Monday

A senior official from the International Monetary Fund has been meeting the Egyptian government for talks about a loan that is crucial for the ... ( Resource: IMF in Egypt for Loan Negotiations

Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi and Prime Minister Hisham Kandil meet on Monday with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s delegation to discuss a $4.8 billion loan.

Kandil said on Sunday that the government would reassure the IMF delegation on the economic situation in Egypt and negotiate the loan.

An agreement of the loan was signed in November but the final ratification was postponed after President Mohamed Mursi cancelled tax increases, which are believed to be part of a package of austerity measures agreed as part of the deal.

"We will explain to the delegation the reasons for postponing the ratification," Kandil said as reported by the Middle East News Agency.

The loan talks were adjourned after Mursi's constitutional declaration that gave him sweeping powers and triggered protests causing political turmoil.

Kandil said that the government would focus its efforts on encouraging investment in the coming period.

He added that the government is taking all measures to confront these hardships and help Egypt's economy to recover and overcome the current crisis.

IMF Director Christine Lagarde had said in a Cairo press conference in August that the agreement might entail Egypt to take certain measures.

"We hope that there will not be any fundamental changes in our plan with the IMF," Kandil had said in an earlier statement.

The new Minister of Finance Al-Sayed Hijazi said that Egypt is now ready to resume the talks with the IMF.

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