liberating exchange rate good for Egyptian economy: IMF director

MARRAKESH - 31 January 2018: Egypt has made a hard decision to liberalize the exchange rate, but it sure did the trick of increasing the country's reserves of foreign currency, says Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The decision sure contributed to an increased flow of foreign direct investments, Lagarde told MENA at the end of a conference in Marrakesh, adding that the growth rate also upped.

She put the growth rate in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries at 3.5 percent and in Egypt alone at more than 5 percent.

This signals confidence in the Egyptian economy and stresses the government's commitment to achieving economic stability, the IMF official said.

Truly, the liberalization of the exchange rate has also led to price hikes, especially that Egypt imports most of its commodities, Lagarde acknowledged.

She also touched upon a rise in the inflation rate that has sure harmed citizens, noting that it exceeded 30 percent before taking a downturn once again.

The IMF expects the inflation rate to decline to 12 percent in 2018, Lagarde said.

Patience is needed because change is always difficult, she noted.