Washington is keen to coordinate with major industrial countries in order to provide the financing necessary to enable Egypt to obtain the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan, said the senior adviser to the US secretary of state, David Thorne. Thorne arrived in Cairo on Sunday evening, heading a trade and investment delegation that includes representatives from 50 American companies, in order to look into ways of cooperating with Egypt. Presidency spokesperson Alaa Youssef said that in his meeting with President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi on Monday, Thorne said that the American business community's visit to Egypt at this specific time is to highlight US support for the initial agreement Egypt reached with the IMF. Thorne also said that there are real opportunities for Egypt's economy to advance during the upcoming period, Youssef added. Thorne said that his country supports the economic reforms being executed by Egypt. Nathan Sheet, US undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, said that throughout October, the US is working with G7 members to ensure full coverage of the loan Egypt is seeking to obtain from the IMF through bilateral funding. Egypt reached an initial agreement with the IMF in September to obtain a loan worth $12bn over the course of three years. Egypt is required to collect $6bn through bilateral funding—through agreements between Egypt and individual countries—before the fund's board approves the loan.
