Finance Minister Amr el Garhy said that the Egyptian side would not accept any preconditions that could exercise pressure on Egypt in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, the minister said that Egypt could halt negotiations with the IMF in case the fund imposed harsh conditions to provide a loan package to Cairo.

The minister denied reports the IMF required a million state employees to be laid off as a precondition to provide a 12- billion-dollar loan over three years to the Egyptian government