International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Saturday praised Egypt's March economic summit and expressed belief in the country's potential to achieve growth, saying the IMF is ready to offer help to the country in all possible ways. In a letter sent to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, Lagarde lauded the number of deals and agreements reached at the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, according to Al-Ahram's Arabic website. Lagarde also, according to the same report, commended recent legal amendments made in Egypt, and the government's plan to achieve economic stability. "Egypt has the capabilities to achieve the aspirations of its people in a comprehensive strong development process," she said in the letter. Lagarde wasone of the speakersat the three-day economic summit last month. Egypt signed deals worth a total of $60 billion during the conference, Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said at the closing ceremony. Investment deals worth $36.2 billion were signed, Mahlab said, in addition to $18.6 billion for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts and loans totalling $5.2 billion. Egypt's wealthy Gulf allies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman pledged an additional $12.5 billion in aid and investments. Four years of political turmoil in Egypt have taken their toll on the economy, including in the tourism sector, one of the country's main sources of foreign currency. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/126896.aspx
