Egypt backs Lagarde for IMF top job

Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi on Sunday announced Egypt's support for French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde's bid to head the International Monetary Fund. "The Egyptian government supports the candidacy of French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde for the post of managing director of the IMF," the official MENA news agency quoted Arabi as saying, after talks with Lagarde in Cairo. The French minister said she was pleased with the "very affirmative" support she received in Cairo. "In this region, I have the honour of being supported by Bahrain, and of having the support of other Arab countries that have expressed themselves," she told reporters.