WASHINGTON, Jan 19: The International Monetary Fund has begun negotiations with Tunisia on a loan programme and is reviewing budget measures in Egypt before it moves forward with talks on a crucial $4.8 billion funding deal, a senior IMF official said on Friday.

Masood Ahmed, the IMF director for the Middle East and North Africa, told reporters he hoped to report progress in the talks with Tunisia by early February. Tunisia, whose uprising two years ago sparked political changes across North Africa, said in November it was seeking a $2.5bn loan from the IMF. Ahmed said current discussions are trying to establish the government’s funding needs.

Tunisia’s newly elected Islamist-led government has sought to revive the economy in the face of a decline in trade with the crisis-hit eurozone and domestic political disputes over the future of the North African Arab state.

In Egypt, the government is keen to move forward to finalise its IMF loan deal, Ahmed said.—Reuters