CAIRO: Egypt's finance minister, Mumtaz al-Saeed, said on Thursday that he expects to seal a loan with the International Monetary Fund by May 15, before a new president for Egypt will be announced. “We expect to get approval of the IMF loan before May 15,God willing, we will take the loan before a president for Egypt is in place.” , Saeed told reporters in Cairo, while he was attending a ceremony to inaugurate a new headquarter for Egyptian Exchange in Smart village, west to Cairo. Egypt has sought a $3.2 billion IMF financing arrangement to ease strains on an economy laid low by the turmoil, which followed last year's overthrow of leader Hosni Mubarak. On the other hand, the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate for presidency Khirat al-Shater said on Sunday that either the terms of the loan must be changed or a new government formed first; which is unlikely to happen before the upcoming presidential elections.
The IMF has confirmed that any deal needs the backing of Egyptian political forces, but the Muslim Brotherhood has said it would not support the loan unless the government speeds the creation of a new administration to watch how the fund will be spent. “A hidden conflict between the Egyptian government, and Muslim brotherhood group is on board, we can conclude that from Mumtaz al-Saeed statements” a private source in ministry of International cooperation told Bikyamasr.com.
