Egyptian government and IMF dispute over recognition and legitimacy

Egypt has decided to downgrade its representation at the meetings of the IMF and the International Bank starting from Thursday, largely in response to the organisation’s cautious response to the military coup that ousted elected President Mohamed Morsi on 3 July.

Prime Minister Hazem Al-Beblawi, who was appointed to his post by the leaders of the military coup, said that Egyptian representation in the meetings would be at the level of ambassador.

Al-Beblawi’s spokesperson told the Turkish news agency Anadolu that there are three reasons behind this decision.

The first is because the IMF administration is currently studying Egypt’s participation. “Egypt is being dealt with this way,” he said, even though “it is one of the founders of the organisation.”

The second reason, according to the spokesperson, is that the invitation arrived late and this required a meaningful response.

And the third reason is that Egypt is no longer in need of a loan from the organisation.

It is also worth mentioning that the Deputy Communications spokesperson at the IMF, William Murray, had told journalists in late July that the IMF would not deal with the current Egyptian government unless it is recognised by the international community.

He also said that there were no direct communications with the current government, except on the level of managers and technicians.