Egypt supports economy to overcome coronavirus crisis: IMF

CAIRO – 14 February 2021: Egypt had taken good steps to support the economy during the coronavirus crisis, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, said.

Georgieva praised, in a statement in a TV interview on Saturday evening, Egypt's expansion in social protection programs and the provision of credit to companies.

She also praised the efforts of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) in supporting various sectors, as well as the role of the financial authorities in strengthening the systems of bankruptcy protection and protecting jobs.

IMF’s Managing Director emphasized the importance of continuing structural reforms, stressing that it is the reforms that have made the Egyptian economy stronger in facing the crisis caused by "Corona", noting the importance of continuing to support the economy until the passage of the crisis.

Georgieva emphasized that the fund would continue to work closely with the government.

In January, IMF raised its forecast for the Egyptian economy for 2020/2021 to 2.8 percent, from 2 percent in its forecast in June 2020.

In the report of the first review of the Credit Standards Arrangement Program for Egypt, the IMF expected the growth of the Egyptian economy by about 5.5 percent during the fiscal years 2021/2022 and 2022/2023.

According to the report, the growth of the Egyptian economy in 2024/25 is expected to reach 5.8 percent, after recording 5.6 percent in 2023/24.

The report pointed out that the abolition of closure measures and partial curfew in Egypt helped to show the Egyptian economy "early signs of recovery" after a more moderate slowdown than expected.

Egypt was one of the few countries that recorded growth during 2020, and the report estimated the growth of the Egyptian economy in 2020 by 1.5 percent.

On the other hand, this will mean that the 2022/2021 fiscal year will witness less dramatic growth, as the recovery is expected to start sooner than expected.

In May 2020, Egypt received $ 2.77 billion from the International Monetary Fund, which represents the value of the rapid credit financing granted to the Egyptian government.

In June 2020, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund finally approved the disbursement of a loan to Egypt worth $5.2 billion (equivalent to 3.76 billion special drawing units) for a year, within the framework of the "credit preparedness agreement" tool, to meet the financing needs of the balance of payments resulting from the "Covid-19 epidemic".