The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has placed US$3 billion at the disposal of Egypt to use whenever it wishes, even though the Egyptian government recently withdrew a request for a loan of the same amount after the ruling military council rejected the use of foreign loans to finance the budget deficit. In a meeting with Egyptian reporters, Abdel Shakour Shalaan, the representative for Egypt and Arab countries on the IMF's board of directors, said Egypt has managed to face up to serious crises during the international financial crisis and developments accompanying the 25 January revolution. Egyptian officials are determined to reduce the budget deficit from 12 to 8.5 percent without any repercussions for the exchange value of the Egyptian pound, he said. He said that he is aware of the critical importance of subsidies for Egyptians, adding that he has convinced officials at the IMF and the World Bank not to ask the Egyptian government to cancel any subsidy allocations. He added that he hopes Egypt will be able to find a way to implement a cash-in-hand system of subsidies instead of the currently implemented system of in-kind subsidies, which does not reach its target beneficiaries. He also said that investments are growing at a slow, but not worrying, pace in Egypt at the moment due to uncertainty regarding the political future of the country. Asked about why the IMF was unable to uncover the amount of corruption in Egypt, Shalaan said corruption exists in all countries, and nobody expected corruption to be so pervasive in Egypt. He said the annual joint conference for the IMF and World Bank was scheduled to be held in Egypt next year, but Egypt has apologized for being unable to host it due to current conditions. He added that he asked Washington to host the conference next year and to allow Egypt to host it as soon as its situation improves. The IMF, meanwhile, denied news about canceling an upcoming visit to Cairo, saying it is ready to help the Egyptian government in whatever way possible. Translated from the Arabic Edition
