(AFP Photo)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation is meeting with several of Egypt’s opposition figures this week.
The IMF mission met with opposition figures Amr Moussa and Amr Hamzawy on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, and will hold meetings with Mohamed ElBaradei, Dostour party leader and Hamdeen Sabahy, the leader of the Al-Tayar Al-Shaaby on Saturday, while talks with the Al-Wafd Party are scheduled for Monday.
The IMF visiting mission has previously only met with the presidency and members of Hesham Qandil’s government regarding the delayed $4.8bn IMF loan.
On his Twitter account, Hamzawy said: “Egypt currently faces huge risks deriving from an economic and financial crisis, along with the fact that the current political environment, in which national consensus is absent, adds to the explosive nature of the crisis.”
He added that the Egyptian government has been failing to address the crisis effectively and to manage its talks with the IMF transparently. “Our public does not have real information about the talks or the loan, therefore populism and generalisations loom large,” he wrote.
Spokesperson of the Congress Party Ahmed Salah Kamel said Moussa fully endorsed Egypt’s request to obtain the IMF loan. The former presidential candidate launched an economic initiative in February.
Heba Yassin, spokesperson of the Al-Tayar Al-Sha’aby Party, said Sabahy will meet with the IMF delegation on Sunday, adding that he will issue a statement after the meeting.
After a long series of negotiations between Egypt and the IMF, a deal was reached on the $4.8bn loan in November. However, ratification of the deal was postponed following the recent unrest witnessed throughout the country.
Talks resumed earlier this year.
