The head of an IMF mission to Egypt ruled out imposing conditions on Cairo for a much-needed loan to help the country reduce a huge budget deficit after last year's unrest, Associated Press reports on Wednesday.
Masood Ahmed told Egyptian dailies however that the International Monetary Fund would prefer to see Egypt produce a two-year programme of reforms that is rubber-stamped by all of the country's post-revolution factions.
Ahmed, director of the IMF's department for the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, led talks this week in Cairo, where the government formally asked the Fund for a 3.2 billion-dollar loan to shore up its economy.
Egypt is facing a budget deficit of 144 billion Egyptian pounds (about 24 billion dollars), which analysts expect to deepen.
The IMF loan issue has been the cause of controversy in Egypt, where the economy slumped as instability and violence continued to grip the country after the ouster of former strongman Hosni Mubarak last year in a popular revolt.
