IMF team back in Egypt

Reuters reports that International Monetary Fund negotiators will be back in Egypt for negotiations this week: The most populous Arab country has been seeking a loan from the Fund to ease economic strains after two years of political upheaval. Reserves of foreign currency have fallen to critically low levels, threatening Egypt’s ability to import essential ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

Reuters reports that International Monetary Fund negotiators will be back in Egypt for negotiations this week:

Reuters reports that International Monetary Fund negotiators will be back in Egypt for negotiations this week:

The most populous Arab country has been seeking a loan from the Fund to ease economic strains after two years of political upheaval. Reserves of foreign currency have fallen to critically low levels, threatening Egypt’s ability to import essential supplies of fuel and wheat.

President Mohamed Mursi’s government initialed a deal with the IMF last November but postponed final ratification in December in the face of unrest triggered by a political row over the extent of his powers.

The Egyptian authorities have reportedly taken certain measures recently to meet IMF concerns, including raising import duties. But as the Council on Foreign Relations’ Isobel Coleman described here for FP, the sensitive issue of subsidy reform remains largely unaddressed.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

Tag: IMF

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