Egypt to continue to enjoy ‘strong support’ from IMF: Georgieva

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva confirmed on Sunday that Egypt would continue to enjoy strong support from the fund.

“We’re working right now with the Egyptian authorities. They’re doing very good job in a very difficult environment to priortise support for the vulnerable populations, to create better opportunities for the private sector,” Georgieva told Asharq Business on the sidelines of the COP28 in Dubai.

“We’ll be completing this work and I can say with confidence that Egypt will continue to enjoy strong support from the IMF.”

When asked if the IMF programme would advance during the first quarter of 2024, Georgieva replied: “Yes, soon.” However, she did not provide specific details.

Egypt has been working on the completion of the IMF’s four-year loan programme, which will provide the country an access to $3 billion in eight installments, with hopes to increase it to $5 billion.

In December last year, IMF’s executive board approved a 46-month arrangement of around $3 billion under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to Egypt. The North African country has only received the first installment. It was slated to receive two more tranches in March and September of the current year, but these were delayed.

In November, Georgieva said the IMF was contemplating expanding Egypt’s loan programme by an undisclosed amount, considering the ongoing economic challenges and the impact of the Israeli war on Gaza.

In October, the IMF chief emphasised that Egypt would deplete its reserves unless it devalued its currency once again. However, she commended the positive steps taken by the country to address the severe economic crisis.

Since March 2022, Egypt has devalued its pound currency three times. This led the Egyptian pound to lose over 75 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar.