An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission team led by Ivanna Vladkova Hollar and the Egyptian authorities have agreed on the main policy elements of Egypt’s reform programme backed by the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF). 

 

“The (Egyptian) authorities expressed a strong commitment to act promptly on all critical aspects of Egypt’s economic reform programme,” said Hollar, who visited Cairo from January 17 to February 1, 2024 to conduct discussions toward the completion of the first and second reviews the programme.

 

“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 programme supported by the IMF,” she said.

 

Social spending

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.

 

The mission and the authorities will continue discussions virtually over the coming days to finalise 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.

 

“The mission would like to thank the authorities for their warm hospitality and constructive dialogue,” Hollar added.--TradeArabia News Service