IMF Approves Egypt's $5.2 Billion Loan

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved on Friday a 12-month loan arrangement for Egypt, valued at $ 5.2 billion.

The new arrangement aims to help Egypt meet the challenges posed by the corona pandemic by providing the fund's to meet the balance of payments needs in Egypt and financing the budget deficit.

The program supported by the fund will also help the authorities to maintain the achievements made over the past four years, support health and social spending to protect vulnerable groups, and promote a set of key structural reforms to put Egypt on a strong foot for sustainable recovery with higher and more inclusive growth and create employment opportunities in the medium term.

After a proven track record of successfully completing the economic reform program with the support of the IMF's fund in 2016-2019, Egypt was one of the fastest growing among emerging markets before the outbreak of the corona crisis.

Meantime, the major domestic and global turmoil caused by the epidemic exacerbated economic expectations and altered policy priorities.