CAIRO: Egypt's President-elect Mohamed Morsi said he was “still looking” at a potential $3.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) aimed at alleviating Egypt's current economic crisis since the revolution ousted the former regime in February 2011. According to Bloomberg news, which quoted Morsi's spokesman Yasser Ali, the new president would look closely at the potential loan upon taking office officially this weekend. He wants to gauge public opinion and ensure political consensus before approving the funds, Ali was reported as saying. The state-owned al-Ahram newspaper had reported that a deal was to be signed this month, but the IMF had urged certain procedures were needed in order for the loan to be granted. Masood Ahmed, IMF director for the Middle East and North Africa, told Reuters in late May that Egypt still needed to do “some technical work" to finalize its economic program. Masood has claimed there are three important steps that Egypt should take if it wants to go further in the loan procedure with the IMF, referring to the economic program, political support and alternative financial sources. “I think that process (of getting political support) is advancing but I do not think we are at the point yet where we could move forward." “There's still more work to be done to close down those three areas," he said, referring the three important steps to secure the loan.
