Business

Egypt in talks with IMF for financial assistance

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 02:52 pm

Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli announced on Sunday that his government had started negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to obtain a one-year financial assistance to cope with the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We have started discussions with the IMF for financial assistance in addition to technical assistance,” Madbouli said at a televised press conference in Cairo, without specifying the amount of aid requested from the Washington-based financial institution.

By November 2016, Cairo had already secured a $12 billion (€10.7 billion) support package from the IMF, the last tranche of which was disbursed last year.

The Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, stated in a press release that she had received a request from Egypt for emergency support via a “rapid financing instrument” in order to enable the government “to meet its immediate needs in terms of balance of payments and to come to the aid of the most affected sectors as well as the most vulnerable categories of population”.

The IMF, she added, is also working with the Egyptian government “to support a robust set of economic programmes through a stand-by arrangement”, a loan designed to respond quickly to countries’ external financing needs and to accompany policies aimed at emerging from crisis situations.

Praising Egypt’s economic performance before the emergence of the new coronavirus, Mr Madbouli said that the recent shutdown of the tourism and civil aviation sectors had been a key factor in this new request for international assistance.

In 2019, tourism alone, just recovering from several years of political and security instability, brought nearly $12.9 billion to the Egyptian economy.

“We do not know when this crisis will end (…) and we want to preserve the gains made by our economy,” Madbouli said, alongside other officials and ministers.

Tarek Amer, the governor of the Central Bank, said the pandemic had caused Cairo’s foreign exchange reserves to fall from $45.5 billion in February to $40.1 billion in March.

The Minister of Planning, Hala al-Saïd, for her part, estimated that the Egyptian GDP “would reach 4.5% in 2020”, a rate she judged “among the best in the world”, in a context of “unprecedented crisis”.

Since the popular uprising in 2011 that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak from power, the Egyptian economy has experienced great difficulties and is struggling to recover.

In power since 2014, President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, under the aegis of the IMF, is pursuing a very unpopular austerity policy aimed at reducing the state budget deficit, notably by reducing subsidies for fuel, electricity and basic necessities.

(AFP)

Albert Echetah

Recent Posts

Africa and GCC Trade Doubles to $121 Billion

Trade between African and GCC countries stands at $ 121 billion in 2023, double of what it was in 2016.…

December 21, 2024

Families in Mayotte rebuilding their homes complain of lack of help

Family members struggling after one week after  of Cyclone Chido ripped through the French island territory of Mayotte expressed helplessness…

December 21, 2024

Ethiopian PM Inaugurates UAE-Funded Orphanage in Oromia

The United Arab Emirates has launched its orphanage project in Ethiopia's Oromia region on the orders of President Sheikh Mohamed…

December 21, 2024

A Rising Femicide Threat, Kenya’s Call to End Gender Based Violence

In just four months, 100 women have been killed, the majority by males they knew including spouses. Prime Cabinet Secretary…

December 20, 2024

Actor C Confion has passed away

The Ghanaian entertainment industry is in deep mourning following the sudden death of Bright Owusu, better known as C Confion.…

December 20, 2024

South Africa: 512 Accident Deaths and 941 Arrested for Drunk Driving Just on December Month

Since the beginning of December more than five hundred people have lost their lives on the nation's highways. Barbara Creecy,…

December 19, 2024

This website uses cookies.