Under the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) current baseline, the organisation does not forecast Egypt needing any external financing going forward, according to Celine Allard, IMF Mission Chief for Egypt.
Her remarks came during a virtual press conference held to mark the IMF’s second review for Egypt’s economic reform programme. The programme was supported by the IMF Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) and the 2021 Article IV Consultation on 23 June.
On 23 June 2021, the IMF’s Executive Board completed the second and final review of Egypt’s economy programme supported by a 12-month SBA. The completion of the review allows the authorities to draw the equivalent of $1.7bn in financing, bringing total purchases under the arrangement to about $5.4bn.
In the same meeting, the Executive Board also concluded the 2021 article for consultation with Egypt.
Regarding whether the IMF will enter negotiations with Egypt on a new programme for structural reform in its second phase, Allard said that it is up to the Egyptian authorities to decide how they want to take their post SBA engagement with the IMF forward. She noted that the Egyptian side is currently deciding what would be the most appropriate for them.
She stressed that the IMF will continue to support the authorities in the implementation of the reform, whatever the form of engagement that the authority decide to take on.
