CAIRO: Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi failed on his brief Wednesday visit to Berlin to persuade Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel to reduce Egypt's €240 million debt to Germany, the German Der Spiegel magazine reported on Wednesday. On its website, the magazine stated that Morsi “is unlikely to be satisfied with the outcome of his visit to Berlin”, adding that Merkel “failed to respond” as Morsi would have liked. Merkel refrained from any mention of forgiving Egypt's debt, which Germany had earlier alluded to. Merkel also did not discuss the possibility of her country's participation in new developmental projects, Der Spiegel wrote. All Merkel did was give advice, the magazine explained. Morsi attempted to express confidence in Berlin since he needs investors and tourists to return to Egypt for the economy's recovery, it said. It is unclear though whether Morsi is able to control the ongoing violence in the country or not, the magazine stated. According to the magazine, Morsi “outlined a future for Egypt that Germany could only applaud, heralding the dawn of a democratic country based on a separation of church and state, one that champions pluralism and religious freedom.” Egypt has been looking for loans to help a budget crisis and a stumbling economy recover after two years of unrest, which continues today across the country as protesters defy curfews in three Suez Canal cities and call for the ousting of Morsi. Earlier this month, Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remain at odds over a $4.8 billion loan aimed at shoring up budget pitfalls within the government and help reboot a struggling economy. The IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Director Masood Ahmed was quoted by local press as saying the international financial body is currently in a review of the government's new procedures for reducing its deficit. That is a prerequisite for resuming talks to ultimately finalize and sign the loan deal. “Egypt's government is determined to move forward and is fully cooperating to seal the loan deal, there are just a few minor complications that it needs to overcome before it can receive the loan," explained Ahmed. Ahmed added that the IMF must be fully convinced that Egypt will be able to fully implement the loan program before it can give a final agreement on the loan, Egyptian state-run news agency MENA reported. In December, Egypt asked the IMF to postpone the loan deal worth $4.8 billion as it did not want to implement tax increases that enraged many Egyptians across the country. The tax increases were part of IMF stipulations for the loan agreement, which was approved recently by the international development organization. “In light of the unfolding developments on the ground, the Egyptian authorities have asked to postpone their request for a Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF," said a statement from the IMF sent to media on Tuesday afternoon Cairo time. “The Fund remains in close contact with the authorities, and stands ready to continue supporting Egypt during the ongoing transition and to consult with the authorities on the resumption of discussions regarding the Stand-By Arrangement," it added. But the loan deal has not been seen as necessarily positive by opposition groups in the country, who had demanded that there was a national dialogue ahead o approving the deal. “This is a loan that in the end we all know who is going to pay for it, Egyptians and nobody wanted to hear our criticism and frustration," activist Amr Mohamed, 28, who has spoken out on the loan on social media networks, told Bikyanews.com after the loan was announced in November. An IMF staff mission headed by Andreas Bauer, Division Chief in the Middle East and Central Asia Department, and the Egyptian authorities said that they had reached a staff-level agreement on a 22-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) in the amount of about $4.8 billion. But activists and NGOs in Egypt have repeatedly said that the entire process has been void of transparency and had recently come together to oppose the loan, demanding that the government of President Mohamed Morsi end discussions with the IMF. It didn't happen. In early November, a group of 17 political parties, NGOs and human rights associations in Egypt have called for loan negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to be ended immediately, citing a lack of transparency and the undemocratic nature of the current development. Among the groups were the Popular Current Party, The Egyptian Current Party, The Strong Egypt Party as well as rights NGOs New Woman Foundation, Hisham Mubarak Law Center, Habi Center for Environmental Rights, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Egyptian Women Legal Aid and others. “The negotiations of the terms and conditions of the loan agreement, including the government's economic reform program, have lacked transparency on the part of both the IMF and the Government of Egypt," said the statement sent to media outlets. BM
