Egypt has asked the International Monetary Fund for US$3.2 billion in support, a government minister said on Monday, as the country's interim cabinet seeks to fill a budget gap pushed wider by almost a year of economic turmoil.
"We have asked the IMF for $3.2 billion in support," Planning and International Cooperation Minister Fayza Aboulnaga told reporters at the start of talks with fund officials visiting Cairo.
She said an IMF delegation would return to Egypt in late January. IMF regional director Masood Ahmed said many technical details of an agreement must still be resolved and this week's visit was to "hear and understand the Egyptian situation".
