WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said on Friday that its $12 billion bailout programme for Egypt aims to reduce the country's public debt-to-GDP ratio by almost ten percentage points by the end of the programme's third and final year.

In a statement following board approval of the loan programme earlier on Friday, the IMF said the programme also aims to eliminate foreign exchange shortages by liberalizing the exchange rate system, contain inflation and strengthen social safety nets by increasing spending on food subsidies and cash transfers.

(Reporting by David Lawder, editing by G Crosse)