Tough comments made last Wednesday towards the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by Central Bank governor Hisham Ramez have not been taken offensively by the global lender, one of its top officials has said. William Murray, the deputy spokesman at the IMF could not expound on the topic but asserted that the IMF's relationship with Egypt remains strong. "Egypt is a member of good standing; they're invited to the annual meetings," Murray added. Last Wednesday, Reuters reported that Ramez had criticised the "inappropriate way" in which Egypt was invited to the IMF's annual meeting in Washington, which "prompted the Egyptian government to reject the invitation." Murray responded by reiterating that the IMF is in "ongoing and active" discussions with the Egyptian authorities and that the fund stands ready to help Egypt and the Egyptian people. "I don't see any change in our relationship," Murray added. On a 10 October press conference, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said the IMF is "very keen and ready to engage with the Egyptian authorities in order to help the country and the people of Egypt stabilise the situation and address the economic difficulties that it is facing." "We believe that it has to be cooperation between the Egyptian authorities on the one hand, and us, the donors, whoever is participating and is keen to stabilize the financial and economic situation in the country," Lagrade added. Ties between the fund and Egypt have been strained since the 3 July ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi by the military, with the IMF dithering on establishing formal contact with the interim government. Two years of talks over a proposed $4.8bn loan have stalled out, with Egypt deeming the loan unnecessary for the time being, as it received in August $12bn in aid from Gulf states.
