The International Monetary Fund announced the immediate disbursement of $820 million to the Egyptian government, part of an augmented plan to aid the nation’s stumbling economy.
The IMF’s Executive Board validated the payment as part of a $3 billion aid program granted at the end of 2022.
The IMF action, repeatedly postponed and eagerly awaited by the Egyptian government, arrives at a time of mounting difficulties for its economy.
The Board also approved a $5 billion extension announced at the beginning of the month, bringing the Fund’s total lending to Egypt to $8 billion.
In a news release sent, the IMF said that the Egyptian government has achieved all the objectives set out in the first two stages of the aid program, with the exception of the level of its foreign currency reserves.
“The authorities have significantly strengthened the reform package,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in the release.
“Recent measures toward correcting macroeconomic imbalances, including unification of the exchange rate… and significant tightening of monetary and fiscal policies, were difficult, but critical steps forward,” she added
However, the IMF is fairly optimistic for the coming fiscal year, forecasting economic growth will rise 4.4 percent, compared with 3 percent for the current fiscal year ending June 30.
