IMF moves closer to $1.6bn Egypt loan

CAIRO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that it reached an agreement with Egypt on the first review of the economic reform program performance.
The agreement, drafted by experts headed by Uma Ramakrishnan on the IMF side, is subject to the approval of the Fund’s executive board during the coming weeks. Upon approval, an additional $1.6 billion in special drawing rights will be made available to Egypt.
The IMF mission to Egypt was completed remotely from Nov. 4 to 15. The Fund discussed with the Egyptian government the latest economic developments and policy priorities in the context of the first economic program for Egypt performance review, which the IMF supports with a 12-month credit readiness agreement worth $5.2 billion.
Egyptian Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said that Egypt’s economic performance in light of the pandemic was praised by international institutions, including the IMF, after the country’s economic indicators came in better than expected. Maait said the praise was repeated in the latest IMF report issued yesterday, after the first review meetings during the past two weeks as part of the extended credit preparedness agreement.
The results will reflect positively on Egypt’s investment climate, especially in international and local finance and business, and it will contribute to attracting more investment, providing new job opportunities, sustaining high growth rates for domestic products, reducing debt and deficit ratios, maximizing productive capacities and expanding the export base. This will enable the state to increase spending and improve the standard of living, protecting vulnerable groups and supporting sectors affected by the pandemic.
The minister added that the historic economic reforms, the stability of financial and monetary policies, structural reforms carried out by the government and the balanced financial policies supported by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi made it easier for the Egyptian economy to confront the pandemic.