Egypt is hoping to secure a $4.8bn IMF loan Cairo – Akram Ali An International Monetary Fund [IMF] staff delegation, led by Massoud Ahmed, the director of the IMF's Middle East department, arrived in Cairo on Monday accompanied by Andreas Bauer, a division chief within the department. The delegation arrived from London in a visit set to last several days. The IMF representatives are set to conduct talks with top Egyptian officials over the $4.8bn loan to be granted to Egypt.
Prime Minister Hisham Kandil has already announced that his cabinet asked for a one-month hiatus in negotiations over the loan, from the original approval date of December 19 2012, due to a political crisis that Egypt was going through.  
In a press conference on Sunday, Kandil tried to reassure the public over fears that the IMF will demand strict austerity, saying that the Egyptian government will explain Egypt's circumstances to the global financial organisation.