Egypt is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a new cooperation programme to support the country’s comprehensive economic reforms and an agreement is expected to be reached within a “very few months,” Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said.
In a press conference announcing the government’s plan to cope with the current global economic crisis, Madbouly said the new IMF programme will include additional financing.
Late in March, the Egyptian cabinet said it had requested discussions with the IMF about the new programme a month after the start of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on 24 February.
Egypt’s negotiations with the IMF on the new programme first started after the completion in June 2021 of the IMF economic reform programme to help Egypt cope with the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, Madbouly said during the press conference.
“We never stopped dealing with the IMF,” Madbouly said.
He noted that the negotiations on the programme initially included technical assistance only because “there had been no need for the financial part as the Egyptian economy was on the move.”
The negotiations then started to include additional financing in light of the “huge pressures due the inflation wave and the Russia-Ukraine crisis,” the premier explained.
