An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission team led by economist Ivanna VladkovaHollar ended their visit to Egypt on Thursday.
The mission team conducted discussions toward the completion of the first and second reviews of Egypt’s reform programme supported by the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) during their visit to Cairo during January 17-February 1.
Hollar thanked the Egyptian authorities for warm hospitality and constructive dialogue during the visit.
At the end of the visit, Hollar said the IMF team and the Egyptian authorities made excellent progress on the discussions of a comprehensive policy package needed to reach a Staff Level Agreement (SLA) for the combined first and second reviews of Egypt’s economic reform program supported by the IMF.
“To this end, the IMF team and the Egyptian authorities have agreed on the main policy elements of the program. The authorities expressed a strong commitment to act promptly on all critical aspects of Egypt’s economic reform program,” Hollar said in a statement.
“The IMF team and the Egyptian authorities also agreed on the critical importance of strengthening social spending to protect vulnerable groups. This is important to ensure adequate living conditions for low and middle-income households that have been hit particularly hard by rising prices,” she said.
Hollar said the mission and the authorities would continue discussions virtually over the coming days to finalize the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP), and identify the magnitude of additional support from the IMF and other bilateral and multilateral development partners needed to help close Egypt’s increased financing gaps in the context of recent shocks.
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