DOHA — Various Egyptian opposition voices stressed the need for “political consensus and security” before addressing the country’s economic woes during discussions at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum, held June 9–11 in Doha. The forum, hosted by the Brookings Institution, sought to assess Egypt’s dire economic situation behind closed doors, with participants representing a broad spectrum of the country’s political scene.
The discussions were held amid debate within Egypt over a stalled loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which in April had forecast that Egypt’s GDP growth would slow to 2.0% in 2013, down from 2.2% in 2012, with unemployment jumping from 12.3% in 2012 to 13.5% this year.
