IMF unlocks around $2.3 billion for Egypt

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has unlocked around $2.3 billion for Egypt after its latest program reviews, it said on Wednesday, as the country pushes to liberalize its economy. Caught in one of its worst economic crises in history, Egypt secured an expanded $8 billion package over nearly four years from the IMF in March 2024, contingent on a series of economic reforms. In March last year, the global lender approved a new loan worth $1.3 billion for Egypt.

After completing the fifth and sixth reviews of the Extended Fund Facility, the IMF said on Wednesday around $2 billion will be unlocked for Egypt. It will be able to draw an extra $273 million under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) after the first review was completed, the IMF said in a statement. "Egypt's macroeconomic situation has improved amid sustained stabilization efforts," it said.

"Tight monetary and fiscal policies together with exchange rate flexibility have helped restore macroeconomic stability, reduce inflation, and strengthen the external position." But it warned that structural reforms under the program have been "uneven" and efforts to reduce the state's footprint "have been slower" than predicted.