CAIRO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will provide Egypt with initial aid of up to U.S. $5 billion amid an extended monitoring of the situation inside the country, upon which the size of the aid will be determined. The IMF expressed its readiness to provide economic advice to Egypt immediately after stabilization of the situation, pointing to the seriousness of the problems of unemployment and high prices as grave challenges to the Egyptian government, especially in the current circumstances. “We cannot assume how exactly the economic situation will develop there, as the political situation is not clear yet,” said Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF head. He added that the IMF provided a periodic report on the Egyptian Economy shortly before the outbreak of massive protests in January that led to the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak. World Bank Director Robert Zoellick said countries such as Egypt should deal with the problem of “partial modernization” of their economies as the political system must allow the masses to benefit from economic reforms. It is noteworthy that this is the first aid to be granted to Egypt after the events of the Revolution. The IMF offered its assistance to the Egyptian government at the start of the Revolution, but Egypt refused to receive the aid, stressing the ability of the Egyptian economy to restore itself without foreign aid. BM
