DUBAI – Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco have succeeded with comprehensive subsidy reform plans featuring robust public communications, appropriate phasing of price increases, and targeted cash support for the most vulnerable, said executive director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva.
Addressing the Arab financial forum in Dubai, she said phasing out explicit energy subsidies could save $336 billion in the region including in oil exporting countries.
In addition to savings, it discourages pollution, and helps improve social spending—a triple dividend, she added.
We have made available roughly $64 billion in liquidity and reserves to the MENA region since the pandemic began, including $8 billion in the last year. Of that, $1.6 billion is from our newest instrument—the Resilience and Sustainability Trust—to help Morocco and Mauritania transition to greener economies.
With the World Bank, we provided $4.5 billion in debt relief for Somalia—the culmination of years of rebuilding.
We have also ramped up capacity development throughout the region and our new office in Riyadh is strengthening our presence and partnerships with Arab institutions.
In short, we’re here for the long haul—to help you grow a fiscal tree that is strong enough to survive the worst winds and most devastating droughts.
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