Amer: Egypt Discusses New Cooperation With IMF

Central bank governor Tarek Amer said earlier this week that Egypt is discussing further cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help implement new structural reforms.

Amer said the government and the IMF are considering a potential partnership. “We are now implementing structural reforms. We look forward to seeing whether the IMF can help with new reforms,” he inquired.

Egypt signed a three years, $ 12 billion agreement in November 2016 with the IMF, ending next month.

Amer said Egypt will continue to work with the IMF regardless of the new agreement.

It is noteworthy that Egypt received a final tranche worth $ 2 billion after the country has managed to complete the economic reform program successfully.

A delegation of the IMF visited Egypt last May to conduct a fifth review of the Extended Fund Facility, which was concluded with an expert-level agreement with the Egyptian government.

For the past three years, Egypt began a courageous economic reform program that included the devaluation of its currency as well as introducing new taxes including a value-added tax (VAT) and reduced energy subsidies.