US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pledged to support Egypt’s economy and reforms following a meeting with her senior financial officials in Washington, on Tuesday, amid talks about increasing the International Monetary Fund’s $3 billion loan to Cairo.
A spokesman for the IMF said that Egyptian officials, including the Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait, and the Governor of the Central Bank, Hassan Abdullah, are also scheduled to meet with the Director of the Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, during their visit to Washington. He did not go into details.
The high-level meetings come at a time when US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, is visiting the Middle East and working to avoid expanding the war between Israel and Gaza into a regional conflict.
Georgieva told Reuters in November that the IMF was “seriously considering” increasing Egypt’s $3 billion loan program as it suffers from the economic impact of the Israeli invasion of Gaza.
Egypt already suffers from high levels of foreign debt, and has been severely affected by the war in the Gaza Strip that threatens to disrupt tourism bookings and natural gas imports, as well as recent attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
A Treasury Department statement said that Yellen discussed the challenges facing Egypt as a result of the Gaza War during her meeting with the Minister of Finance, the Governor of the Central Bank, and the Minister of International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat.
The Treasury Department said: “Secretary Yellen affirmed the United States’ strong support for Egypt and its economic reform program. She emphasized the goal of strengthening the Egyptian economy and supporting comprehensive and sustainable growth.”
The Egyptian loan program faltered in December 2022 after Cairo failed to float its currency freely or make progress in selling state assets.
The Fund postponed disbursing about $700 million expected in 2023, but said in December that it was in talks to expand the $3 billion program given the economic risks resulting from the Israel-Gaza war.
Reuters was unable to reach a spokesman for the Egyptian Embassy in Washington for comment.
2024-01-10 02:05:07
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