The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Thursday that it has concluded its delegation’s visit to Cairo, led by Ivanna Vladkova Hollar, which aimed to complete the first and second review of the Egyptian reform program.
The delegation visited Cairo during January 17 to February 1 to conduct discussions toward the completion of the first and second reviews of Egypt’s reform program supported by the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
“The IMF team and the Egyptian authorities made excellent progress on the discussions of a comprehensive policy package needed to reach a Staff Level Agreement (SLA) for the combined first and second reviews of Egypt’s economic reform program supported by the IMF,” Vladkova Hollar said in a statement.
To this end, the IMF team and Egyptian authorities have agreed on the main policy elements of the program.
The authorities expressed a strong commitment to promptly act on all critical aspects of Egypt’s economic reform program, the statement said.
It added: “The IMF team and Egyptian authorities also agreed on the critical importance of strengthening social spending to protect vulnerable groups. This is important to ensure adequate living conditions for low and middle-income households that have been hit particularly hard by rising prices.”
The mission and the Egyptian authorities will continue discussions virtually over the coming days to finalize the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP).
They will also continue to identify the magnitude of additional support from the IMF and other bilateral and multilateral development partners needed to help close Egypt’s increased financing gaps following recent economic shocks.
