Egypt Withdraws Request for IMF, World Bank Loans

Egypt has withdrawn its loan request to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, an adviser to Finance Minister Samir Radwan told Agence France Presse on Saturday.

"We have decided not to have recourse to loans from the international financial institutions," Abdelfattah al-Gebali said.

He said the decision was taken in response to the "pressure of public opinion," which has been largely hostile to the loan request, and after the submission of a new draft budget for 2011-2012 that foresees a reduction in public spending.