MARRAKESH – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it is in “close engagement” with Egypt to set the date for conducting a review of the four-year loan programme signed with the country in December 2022.
In her first press conference during the IMF and World Bank meetings in Marrakech, Morocco, on October 9-15, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said: “Our discussions with the Egyptian authorities are focused on making sure that Egypt succeeds.”
“Egypt has made good progress on a number of fronts, including fiscal policy, the implementation of the privatization strategy, and the engagement with our team on how to best conduct monetary policies in this hard time. Our discussions are focused now on making sure that Egypt succeeds. We are currently [defining] the challenges, to be sure that Egypt can make this progress and to set a date for a mission,” she added according to MENA.
Last month, Egypt said it had agreed with the IMF to merge the fund’s first and second reviews of its economic reform programme after the first review was continuously delayed amid questions over Cairo’s progress in meeting the IMF’s terms, according to Bloomberg.
The IMF in December approved a $3 billion Extended Fund Facility loan for Egypt, which is under immense pressure to turn around its economic crisis.
Under its loan agreement with the IMF, Egypt has adopted a flexible exchange rate system and is offering stakes in 35 state-owned companies to strategic investors through 2024.
The stakes programme has already collected $5 billion, with another $5 billion in deals in the pipeline.
“My respect to the Egyptian authorities, the governor of the central bank, and the minister of finance who are handling well very difficult challenges,” Georgieva concluded.
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