Egypt govt relaxes foreign currency rules

Passengers allowed to declare more than $10,000 upon arrival

CAIRO, April 13, (Agencies): Egypt, which is in need of foreign currency, is relaxing its rules on how much cash air travelers can bring into the nation.

Egyptian airport officials say that beginning Saturday passengers will be allowed to declare more than $10,000 in foreign currency upon arrival, but still won’t be allowed to leave with more than that.

Late last year, as value of the Egyptian pound declined sharply amid political turmoil, President Mohammed Morsi ordered airport authorities to ban people from entering or leaving Egypt with more than $10,000. Some Egyptians worried about the country’s slumping economy had begun hoarding US dollars, and several have tried to flee the country with bags of cash.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Egypt’s bid to secure a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund is winning guarded support from some of President Mohamed Mursi’s liberal opponents that could make it easier to secure the deal.

An IMF mission visiting Cairo for talks with the government is also meeting ruling and opposition parties to broaden support for a long-delayed deal seen as vital to supporting an economy in deep crisis, a diplomatic source said. The Islamist-led administration hopes to conclude the agreement next week, unlocking billions of dollars in additional support, boosting investor confidence and helping the state deal with a currency crisis and an unaffordable budget deficit.

The IMF has given no indication of chances of a deal, and some econo- mists say it could take much longer, given government reluctance to implement tax increases and cut fuel subsidies. The mission is expected to conclude on Monday or Tuesday.

“We are looking at the supreme interest of the country and not at narrow party interests, and on the basis of this, we support this loan,” said Motaz Salah, spokesman for the liberal Wafd Party.

“We will give our view in our meeting with the head of the IMF mission on Monday,” he said. “But we need to see the conditions, the measures that will accompany it.”