The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is really concerned to support Egypt, the IMF chief Christine Lagarde affirmed to the Egyptian delegation attending the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington. The Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Hisham Ramez heads the delegation, which is comprised of the Minister of Finance El-Morsi El-Sayed Hegazy and the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ashraf Al Araby to attend the annual IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington. The Egyptian government expects to reach an agreement with the IMF to secure the long-awaited US$ 4.8 billion loan next May after finalizing the economic reform plan, Hisham Ramez said. On the sidelines of the meetings held with IMF, he revealed that Lagarde will issue a statement within hours to announce the details and conditions of the loan and the date of signing the deal. Securing IMF loan will help in financing the soaring budget deficit and overcoming the current economic crisis, in addition to getting more loans from other lenders, he added. Although foreign borrowing will help Egypt overcome the current economic crisis, it is not the best way towards economic recovery which requires entrenching stability to regain investors' confidence in the Egyptian market which will thereby achieve sustainable growth, he stressed. Ramez noted that the Egyptian delegation explained to Lagarde that the country's plan aims at reforming economy, creating an encouraging environment for investments and boosting different economic sectors especially tourism which is a main source for foreign currency through fostering transparency to encourage investors.
