CAIRO: The Egyptian government could be soon getting a $65 million loan from the Arab Monetary Fund, sources were reported as saying on Sunday. The move could help Egypt with its massive pitfalls in its budget. The credit will assist Egypt to boost trade with other Arab countries despite ongoing political instability in Cairo that threatens the future of the country, both politically and economically. According to a Reuters news agency report, the credit line will be given to trade financing programs run by the AMF, central banks and other financial institutions across the Arab world. The AMF is a multilateral lending organization with 22 member countries. Egypt's balance of payments deficit has increased to $11 billion in the first 9 months of its 2011-2012 fiscal year, more than double year-ago levels, as inflows of capital largely dried up. Cairo is seeking aid from a wide range of international donors; Egyptian officials said in February they had asked for $500 million each from the AMF and the African Development Bank, $1 billion from the World Bank and $660 million from the European Union. That aid has been slow to get to the country, partly because donors have been cautious about lending while Egypt's political outlook remains unclear. Farouk el-Okdah, Egypt's central bank governor, said at a meeting of AMF and regional central bank officials in Abu Dhabi on Sunday that the capital and revenues of Egyptian commercial banks were strong. “We are in a better position now,” he said without giving figures.
