Kerry seeks Egypt political consensus

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Cairo yesterday to push for a way out of Egypt’s political impasse and its crippling economic crisis. As Kerry landed in Cairo from Turkey, protesters torched a police station in the canal city of Port Said. One person was killed. The Interior Ministry said in a statement about 500 protesters threw stones and petrol bombs at the police station, setting it on fire, and then blocked fire engines from approaching the blaze. Kerry, is due to hold talks with President Muhammad Mursi, as well as political parties, business leaders and civil society groups during his two-day visit which is part of a world tour. “He is working to touch base with the government, with the military, with people involved in the new Egypt: the political leaders, NGO leaders, the business people,” a US State Department official said. Kerry will stress the “importance of building consensus,” a US State Department official said. Kerry “will not tell them what to do” but will underscore that “the only way to be heard is to participate in the elections,” the official said. A political consensus would pave the way for a crucial loan from the International Monetary Fund, which in turn will unlock several pledges of aid for Egypt’s battered economy. Egyptian officials have said they will continue talks with the IMF on a much needed $4.8 billion loan, which has been delayed amid political unrest and might possibly be signed after a parliament is in place in July. “It will be important for the government to make an agreement with the IMF not only to bring in the IMF money... but also to unlock the other money that comes from the US, the EU, from the Arab states and from private investments,” the State Department official said. “It requires an IMF deal.”