International Monetary Fund, IMF, and Egyptian officials have said that they were working to reach a loan deal in coming weeks. A statement was issued in Washington on Sunday after a meeting of the IMF Chief Christine Lagarde and the Egyptian officials. It said that the two sides have made progress in the discussions held in Washington to address Egypt's economic and financial challenges with the objective of restoring sustained and socially-balanced growth. The IMF Chief met with Egyptian Central Bank Governor Hisham Ramez, Finance Minister Al-Mursi Hegazy, and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ashraf Al-Araby on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. Egypt is trying to secure a $ 4.8 billion loan from IMF to revive its ailing economy and already three rounds of talks have been held.