US working with G7 countries to fund IMF Egypt progra

The United States views the International Monetary Fund's proposed $12 billion bailout for Egypt as "essential" and is working with other G7 economic powers to ensure that it is fully funded with bilateral financing, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Tuesday.

Nathan Sheets, Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, told a policy forum that the United States supports the IMF's Egypt program and believes that reforms required by the IMF will be challenging, but are necessary to make Egypt's economy more competitive and unlock the potential of its young population.

"We in the United States are supportive of the Egypt program as Egypt is working closely with the IMF in taking necessary steps," Sheets said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. "We're also working very closely with our G7 partners to ensure that that program is fully funded."

Egypt needs to arrange up to $6 billion in bilateral gap financing before the IMF board can approve the program and release an initial loan tranche of about $2.5 billion. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said earlier on Tuesday that about 60 percent of the total had been secured.