The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the disbursement of $2bn to Egypt as the fifth tranche of its $12 loan, the Minister of Finance, Mohamed Moeit, announced on Monday.
So far, Egypt has received $10bn from the extended $12bn loan facility signed in 2016.
Moeit said that Egypt is expected to receive the money within a few days, stressing that the IMF’s approval of the fifth tranche comes as a result to the recent economic developments in Egypt and the government’s success in implementing the IMF-backed economic reform programme.
The Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde said that the Egyptian authorities embarked on an ambitious economic reform programme in 2016, adding that, since then, Egypt has made substantial progress as evident in the success achieved in macroeconomic stabilisation.
Egypt’s growth rate is now among the highest in the region, the budget deficit is on a declining trajectory, and inflation is on track to reach the Central Bank of Egypt’s target by the end of 2019, mentioned Lagarde.
