New Egypt Government May Approach IMF Soon

Egypt will consider approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other financial institutions for loans to help get its economy back on track once Mohamed Morsi appoints a government, figures close to the new president have said. The country's interim rulers have been involved in stop-start negotiations over a $3.2 billion loan from the IMF since mid-2011. The military council rejected a loan last summer, only to resume talks earlier this year when officials from the global body visited Cairo. "We intend to approach the IMF again," said Amr Abu-Zeid, development finance adviser to the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), which Morsi led until he became head of state.

"Give him one week or two weeks, so at least he has a cabinet... I believe these issues will not go further until they have a cabinet at least," he told Reuters. Abu-Zeid is financial adviser to the FJP and helped draw up the Brotherhood's Nahda, or Renaissance, economic programme. However, an FJP economics official said the final decision on approaching the IMF would be made by Morsi and his government once it was formed. "We have not taken a decision towards the IMF yet. The decision will be taken by the government and by Morsi. No decision will be taken for a week or two, probably not before two weeks," said Ahmed El-Naggar, a member of the FJP's economics committee. "Our position has been clear all along. We have no objection to an agreement with the IMF, but only after looking at all the alternatives," he told Reuters.