By: Heba Al Kordy

Cairo - Mubasher: The head of the Egyptian Parliament's Legislative and Constitutional Committee said that it has approved Egypt's loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The committee approved the agreement by 33 votes to five, with only one abstention, he added.

Suzy Nashed, a member of the committee, said that the discussion saw an objection for receiving the first tranche of the loan without the approval of the House of Representatives.

In response to the objections, Minister of Finance Amr El Garhy indicated that the IMF did not await the Parliament's approval due to the Egyptian government's need for financing, adding that if the agreement was rejected, the first tranche will be returned, the MP explained.

The Egyptian House of Representatives is expected to discuss the loan agreement in a general session soon, and to have a final vote in the upcoming days.