CAIRO, June 30 – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff level agreement with Egypt on the latest reviews of its financing programmes, a move that could unlock about $1.6 billion once approved by the Fund’s Executive Board.
The agreement includes about $1.5 billion under Egypt’s Extended Fund Facility and around $136 million through the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. If approved, total disbursements under both programmes will rise to about $7.2 billion.
The IMF said Egypt’s economy has remained relatively resilient despite the impact of the conflict in the Middle East. It credited the country’s policy measures, including fuel and electricity price increases, lower government energy use and changes in public spending, for helping contain the economic effects.
Economic growth also improved, with real GDP expanding by 5% in the third quarter, bringing growth for the first three quarters of the fiscal year to 5.2%. However, inflation remains high. Headline urban inflation stood at 14.6% in May and is expected to reach 15.8% by the end of the fiscal year.
The Fund said Egypt should maintain a tight monetary policy to keep inflation under control and allow the exchange rate to remain flexible to help absorb external shocks.
It also noted that Egypt’s fiscal performance remained strong, with tax revenue and primary balance targets exceeded by the end of March. The IMF expects the country’s primary surplus to increase to 5% of GDP in the 2026/27 fiscal year, up from 4.8% in 2025/26.
The Fund added that moving ahead with Egypt’s State Ownership Policy, including faster sales of state assets, will be important to support private sector growth. Earlier this month, Egypt’s cabinet granted four state owned companies preliminary listings under its privatisation programme. Meanwhile, the country’s foreign reserves rose to $53.134 billion in May from $48.526 billion a year earlier.
