An International Monetary Fund spokesman said on Friday that the Fund’s mission is currently in Cairo to discuss a $3 billion loan from the Fund and a reform program.
He added that discussions are underway regarding additional funding to relieve Egypt from the pressures associated with the war in Gaza.
The mission, headed by Ivana Vladkova-Höller, “will continue discussions regarding the first and second review of the Egyptian reform program supported by the Extended Fund Facility. We will communicate at the end of the visit,” the spokesman said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
In recent months, Egypt has witnessed a rise in inflation and a decline in the value of the pound by approximately 50 percent.
The country, with a population of 105 million people, is the world’s largest wheat importer, and is suffering under the weight of war between Ukraine and Russia, its main grain suppliers.
Its debts have ballooned in light of the huge projects of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the state’s support for many products and monetary policy to support the Egyptian pound.
Egypt is now one of the five countries most at risk of defaulting on its foreign debts, according to Moody’s.
Egypt’s foreign debt has more than tripled in the last decade, reaching $165.4 billion this year, according to Ministry of Planning figures.
2024-01-20 01:17:53
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