MP reveals reasons behind approval of IMF loan

Egyptian parliamentarian refused the attempts to link between the calls adopted by Egypt’s Speaker of parliament Ali Abdel Aal to discuss Tiran and Sanafeer agreement on one hand and the decision taken by Saudi petroleum company of Aramco to resume Saudi oil supplies to Egypt on the other hand.

He added, in an interview with “Arabs Today”, that such attempts are abusive and not logic, saying that things cannot go that fast. He added that the Saudi officials do not follow the Egyptian parliamentary statements to take their decisions upon them.

In the same context, the Egyptian parliamentarian justified the legislative committee’s approval to pass the loan of International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying that it came to achieve the interests of the country during the current critical period. He added that the parliamentarians of the Legislative committee discussed the loan to reach a final decision about it.

He stressed that the decision taken by the parliamentary committee came to give the priority to the country’s interest, saying that they work to achieve a state of balance during the current critical period. He added that the loan needs the approval of the majority of the Egyptian parliamentarians during a public session scheduled to be held in the near future.

He acknowledged that the Egyptian government committed a big mistake for ignoring the parliament since the beginning of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, while the rejection of the loan would not serve the country’s interests. We were keen to call the Egyptian government for respecting the parliament’s role when it takes any similar steps in the future.

He added, “We decided to take the step aiming to protect the state entity, as we realize the current threats surrounding the country.” He stressed the need for taking wise steps to overcome the current challenges facing the country during the current critical period.

He expressed his appreciation to the parliamentarians’ resentment over the absence of Egypt’s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail from attending the parliamentary session discussing the critical issues, saying that the government should be represented in the sessions discussing important issues. He praised Egypt’s Minister for Parliamentary Affairs for his keenness to attend the session to represent the government, calling the government for more interaction with the parliament.

He praised the decision to liberate the exchange rate of the Egyptian currency, saying that the government should interfere to ease the repercussions of such decision as soon as possible. He blamed the lack of governmental supervision for the increasing prices of basic commodities.