Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s Minister of Finance said the negotiations with the International Monterey Fund (IMF) come in respect to the aspects of the state budget for the current year 2016/17 and achieving its goals.
The negotiations are on track, although it is still early to talk about any outcomes, said Amr EL-Garhy, finance minister.
The IMF mission has around 10 to 12 days to complete studying the financial reform program submitted by Egypt’s government in order to obtain a loan of $12 billion over three years, noted EL-Garhy.
The IMF mission arrived 30 July at Cairo to start official negotiations with Egypt on the $12 billion loan.
Meanwhile, EL-Garhy expects the parliament to approve the value added tax law by the end of August.
Egypt seeks a $21 billion loan package to fill the budget’s financing gap. Of this amount, $12 billion would be in the form of a loan from the IMF and the rest would come from two loans from the World Bank and the African Development Bank, as well as a bond sale and other loans from funding bodies and countries that the finance minister has yet to announce.
