A delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be visiting Egypt at the end of this month to resume negotiations over a $4.8bn loan, with presidential adviser Essam Al-Haddad blaming the US-based lender for delaying talks. The envoy will discuss technical measures taken to secure the loan, including amendments to the taxation system and rationing the distribution of diesel and fuel, according to an AlBorsa report. Meanwhile, Al-Haddad told the Financial Times earlier this week that the Egyptian government has taken all the necessary steps to meet the conditions set by the IMF, and that the lender is responsible for the delay. The government has already implemented a plan to curb subsidies on energy and bread, and introduced sales tax law on a number of goods and services since December, he said. He added that Egypt's budget deficit is expected to decrease to 9% by June 2014 as was requested by the international lender. However, the IMF has recently published in a report, Regional Economic Outlook, that Egypt's economy is expected to grow at a slower rate during the next fiscal year compared to 2012-2013. The report predicted Egypt's GDP growth will decrease to 2% in the coming fiscal year, compared to 2.2% last year, while also predicting inflation rates will increase to 10.8% by the end of this year. Al-Haddad added that the global lender is holding up talks to finalise the agreement, as it had not yet received consensus from political parties on the government's economic reform programme. Despite that, the IMF stated last Thursday that they are "making good progress" in their discussions with the Egyptian authorities over the loan package. Egypt has been negotiating with the IMF for two years now over the proposed $4.8bn loan to support the country's ailing economy. Tunisia, which preceded Egypt in the Arab Spring upheaval, succeeded in securing a $1.74bn loan from the IMF on Friday to salvage the country's economic strains.
