By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet with Egyptian authorities in Washington on Tuesday, amid talks between Cairo and the IMF about expanding Egypt’s $3 billion loan program.
The high-level meetings come as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits the Middle East and works to prevent the Israel-Gaza war from expanding into a wider regional conflict.
Egypt, already struggling with high foreign debt levels, has been hit hard by the war in the neighboring Gaza Strip, which threatens to disrupt tourism bookings and natural gas imports, as well as recent attacks on Red Sea ships.
“Secretary Yellen is looking forward to hearing about their plans to address Egypt’s economic challenges and to expressing U.S. support for Egypt’s program of reforms to bolster their economy and support inclusive, sustainable growth,” a Treasury spokesperson said.
Egypt’s $3 billion loan program agreed with the IMF in December 2022 faltered after the North African country failed to let its currency float freely or make progress on the sale of state assets.
The IMF delayed disbursements of about $700 million expected in 2023, but in December said it was in talks to expand the $3 billion program given economic risk from the Israel-Gaza war.
The IMF spokesperson provided no further details about the meeting.
The Treasury said Yellen would meet with Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait; Rania Al-Mashat, minister of international cooperation, and top central banker Hassan Abdalla.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis)
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