CAIRO: Egypt must take certain steps to fulfill the requirements of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) loan the country is after to find a way out of its economic crisis, U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland has said. The cabinet expects reaching an agreement on the $4.8 billion loan with the fund within two weeks, the Minister of Planning, Ashraf al-Arabi, said on Thursday. It is clear we support the renewal of talks between Egypt and the IMF because we believe Egypt is in dire need for the loan, the Middle East News Agency reported Nuland as saying. Nuland did not specify the kind of steps she said Egypt should take. Egypt had initially agreed with the IMF on the loan in November to contain a budget deficit. The agreement was frozen at Cairo's request in the wake of an unrest triggered by a decree issued by President Mohamed Morsi that gave him sweeping powers and shielding his decisions from the judiciary. Egypt's budget had been affected by two years of political unrest and economic turmoil since the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak. The country's foreign currency reserves fell to critically low levels, threatening its ability to import essential supplies such as fuel and wheat. Finance minister said on Monday that his government hoped to conclude the deal during the meetings with the IMF delegation, the IMF did not specify a timetable. The IMF is expected to impose austerity measures on Egypt in order to conclude the agreement. 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. BN
