The Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Jihad Azour, said that several issues are currently being discussed with Egypt in preparation for the upcoming reviews under the economic reform program.
At a Washington press conference on Friday during the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings, Azour stated that the IMF is discussing several issues with an Egyptian government delegation currently in Washington.
These developments come after the Egyptian government decided to raise fuel prices by approximately 13 percent, effective Friday, with an increase of two Egyptian pounds per type.
The IMF decided earlier in July to postpone the fifth review, moving it to October and merging it with the sixth review, pending Egypt’s implementation of some agreed-upon reforms.
Egypt’s situation sees improvement
Azour noted that Egypt’s economic indicators have been improving over the past two years since the start of the program with the IMF, pointing to a decline in inflation – which is expected to fall to 11.2 percent.
Meanwhile, growth rates for the 2024-2025 fiscal year reached approximately 4.4 percent, and are expected to rise to 4.5 percent in the current fiscal year, in addition to a further decline in debt.
These indicators ensure economic stability, he said, explaining that engagement with Egypt currently focuses on supporting growth, creating job opportunities, improving business structure, and expanding private sector opportunities with the state supporting it and not competing.
Discussions underway for next IMF visit
Azour explained that discussions are currently underway with Egypt to establish a date for the IMF’s visit to Egypt to complete the fifth and sixth reviews.
In addition to fuel subsidies, the program to privatize state-owned enterprises is one of the points of contention between Egypt and the IMF, leading to the postponement of the approval of the fifth review in July and its merger with the sixth review this month.
The IMF confirmed that Egypt has made progress on its economic reform program, and sis eager to see the government’s rapid implementation of the public offering program.
Azour explained that efforts are currently focused on accelerating the implementation of two key pillars of the program: enhancing the role of the private sector to create new job opportunities and protect the Egyptian economy from any potential fluctuations, and strengthening the social protection system by shifting a portion of public spending to better target the most vulnerable groups.
Egypt on Friday announced a new increase in fuel prices across all categories, amounting to approximately 13 percent, amounting to an increase of two LE per type.
The government confirmed that there will be no further increases for at least a year.
The current eight billion dollar cooperation program between Egypt and the IMF will expire at the end of December 2026.
