CAIRO (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry will stress the importance of Egypt reaching an agreement with the IMF supported across the country's political spectrum when he visits Cairo, a senior U.S. official said on Saturday.

The official said if Cairo could agree on a $4.8 billion loan from the IMF, this would bring in other funds from the United States, European Union and Arab countries.

"His basic message is it's very important to the new Egypt for there to be a firm economic foundation," the official told reporters as Kerry flew to Cairo for a two-day visit.

"In order for there to be agreement on doing the kinds of economic reforms that would be required under an IMF deal there has to be a basic political ... agreement among all of the various players in Egypt," the official said on condition of anonymity.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed, editing by Marwa Awad and David Stamp)