Egypt maximising private sector role in economy: Sisi tells IMF’s Georgieva

Egypt continues to perform more structural fiscal and monetary policy reforms and maximise the role of the private sector in the economy, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Monday.

Sisi made these remarks during his meeting with Georgieva on the sidelines of the World Government Summit (WGS) 2023 in Dubai on Monday.

He emphasised to Georgieva that enhancing fiscal and monetary policy reforms and maximising the role of the private sector should help secure a positive climate for all investors and global financial markets involved with the Egyptian economy.

The president hailed the fruitful and constructive cooperation between the Egyptian government and the IMF to continue the implementation of the country’s all-inclusive economic reform programme.

Georgieva praised the Egyptian economic performance and its resilience in the face of the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

She also stressed the Fund’s aspiration to maintain the special cooperation with Egypt and support the country’s economic reforms.

The meeting reviewed the relations between Egypt and the IMF under the ongoing 46-month loan programme under the Fund’s Extended Fund Facility to continue the path of Egyptian economic reforms.

Egypt is to receive a total loan of $3 billion from the IMF programe. The country has already received one tranche and is expected to receive the second by the end of March following the completion of the first review scheduled in mid-March.

Under the programme, Egypt pledged to the IMF to unleash the potential of the private sector to play a greater role in the economy and decrease the government footprint in the investment scene.

The country will also apply structural reforms that address the imbalances of the macroeconomic indices so as to bridge an expected $17 billion financing gap over the coming four years.