Egypt PM expects $4.8bn IMF loan deal within two monthsSeptember 9, 2012 - 16:42 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Egypt's Prime Minister expects to conclude a $4.8 billion IMF loan deal within two months and is in talks for additional budget support worth about $1 billion from the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB), he said on Sunday, Sept 9, according to Reuters. Egypt has had on-off negotiations with the International Monetary Fund since last year, when a popular uprising unseated the country's president and sent the economy into a tailspin. "These (IMF) negotiations have been going on for a year, so we have a framework for a good program. We need to adjust it and make sure we're comfortable with it and can implement it, and that we own it," Hisham Kandil told Reuters in an interview. Asked when he thought an IMF loan would be agreed, Kandil said: "A couple of months." He also said Egypt was in talks with the World Bank and AfDB. "I think we'll get half a billion from the WB and a similar one from the AfDB," he said. "It comes after the IMF." Saudi Arabia and Qatar have pledged billions of dollars to support Egypt, including budgetary support. Kuwait, another wealthy Gulf Arab state, had already made a "reconnaissance visit" and a delegation of Kuwaiti officials and business executives would return to Egypt on Thursday, he said. "They are coming this Thursday in a big delegation to talk business... Government and businessmen," he said. Asked about any talks with the United Arab Emirates about support, Kandil said he was working to resolve a business dispute with a UAE investor. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |