An International Monetary Fund (IMF) official praised Egypt’s key economic reforms, noting the country’s remarkable success in curbing inflation and increasing foreign exchange reserves.
“Egypt continues to make progress under its macroeconomic reform programme,” Julie Kozack, IMF’s Director of Communications, told a press briefing in Washington DC on Friday.
An IMF team had productive discussions with the Egyptian authorities during their visit to Cairo on May 6-18, according to Kozack.
Kozack told the gathering that in a bid to move further and to “really safeguard” macroeconomic stability in Egypt and to bolster the country’s resilience to shocks, it is essential to deepen reforms.
“This is particularly important to reduce the state footprint in the economy, level the playing field, and improve the business environment. Some of the key policies that are under discussion and key priorities are advancing the state ownership policy and asset [divestment diversification] program in sectors where the state has committed to withdraw,” she said.
According to her, these steps are critical to enable the private sector to drive stronger and more sustainable growth in Egypt. “And our commitment, of course, is strong to Egypt. We’re committed to supporting Egypt in building this resilience and in fostering growth,” Kozack said.
Combined IMF reviews
As for the IMF reviews, Kozack said the discussions suggest that more time is needed to finalize the key policy measures, particularly related to the state’s role in the economy and “to ensure that the critical objectives of the programme, the authority’s economic reform programme, can be met”.
“Our staff team is continuing to work with the authorities on this goal. And for that reason, the Fifth and Sixth Reviews under the EFF will be combined. And the idea is for them to be combined into a discussion or a combined review for the fall. So that’s the rationale for combining the reviews,” Kozacksaid.
Discussions about combining the reviews are still in progress, she explained, noting that the IMF will evaluate Egypt’s financing needs.
