IMF: Egypt must use all tools to alleviate economic reform burdens

Egyptian government must use all the tools necessary to relieve the cost of economic reform, whether those tools are in form of financial policies, including interest rates, monetary or economic measures, said an IMF official on Wednesday.

Hazem Al-Beblawi, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund and Egypt’s former prime minister, made these remarks on the on the sidelines of meeting with the door-knocking mission in Washington.

IMF had urged policymakers in Egypt to tackle inflation as a priority. That is why the IMF Middle East Director Jihad Azour, recently stated that interest rates were among the tools Egypt could use to control inflation “the right tool” to curb inflation. He even included interest rates as among many possible tools, that can help to contain inflation.

Beblawi further said that the procedures being taken by the IMF do not affect the poorest brackets. The IMF always sets conditions to guarantee that a portion of states’ expenditure is directed to social security networks, Beblawi added.

The economic reform procedures taken in Egypt became more painful because they had been 6 years overdue, the IMF official added, expecting that their fruits will be good as the state takes further actual reform steps.

“It was imperative to trade US dollar at its real value, it’s not normal that US dollar trade at 8 Egyptian pounds and be unavailable”, Beblawi stated. He stressed the necessity that Egypt has to improve foreign currency income resources, notably investments and tourism.

On a separate note, he noted the necessity of the changeability of the world, especially in view of the challenges facing peoples, in the forefront of which is the problem of pollution caused by the advanced world and overpopulation that devours any achieved economic growth.

He stressed the importance of embarking on economic reforms in the area quickly to avoid any possible coming economic shocks.