IMF team to visit Egypt this month for 4th scheme review

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday a delegation will visti Egypt this month to complete fourth review of the reform programme.

IMF conducted in May its third review, whereby Egypt received a $2 billion, bringing the total amount of the fund disbursements to around $8 billion.

In November, Egypt agreed on a three-year $12 billion loan deal with the IMF, which involved tough economic reforms such as narrowing its budget deficit and letting the Egyptian pound float freely in the exchange market.

In September, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde praised Egypt’s economy saying it was showing “strong signs of recovery” under a three-year reform plan. Lagarde stressed the importance of structural reforms to achieve more sustainable development in Egypt.

In a statement after she recently met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in New York, Lagarde said the IMF remained committed to supporting Egypt.

“Egypt’s economy is showing strong signs of recovery, and its economic growth is among the highest in the Middle East,” Lagarde said in the Sept. 23 statement.

She said she agreed with Sisi on the importance of capitalising on Egypt’s “macroeconomic gains to advance the authorities’ home-grown structural reforms”.

“These reforms will help achieve more sustainable, inclusive and private-sector led growth which will help create jobs for Egypt’s young population, while also ensuring adequate resources are available for social protection,” she added, according to the statement.

Egypt in June raised fuel and electricity prices as part of the reforms agreed under the IMF plan in measures that had made it harder for ordinary Egyptians to make ends meet. Another fuel price rise is scheduled next year.