IMF Postpones Egypt's Third Review Meeting to July 29

Ivana Vladkova Hollar, head of the International Monetary Fund mission to Egypt said that Egypt has been re-listed on the list of upcoming meetings of the Fund’s Executive Board to be next July 29 to discuss the third review of the economic reform program.

The International Monetary Fund postponed the discussion of disbursing the third tranche of the loan granted to Egypt, worth $820 million, to July 29, after it was on the schedule of its meetings scheduled for Wednesday.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund was scheduled to discuss the third review of Egypt’s economic reform program on Wednesday but it ruled it out, and only a special meeting for the Congo appeared on the agenda of the meetings scheduled for tomorrow.

The $820 million represents the third tranche of the $8 billion Extended Fund Facility Agreement, which the Fund previously agreed to support Egypt’s economic reform program.

A team of Fund experts visited Cairo, led by Hollar during the period from May 12 to 26 to consider the third review of the Egypt program supported by the Extended Fund Facility.

The “Extended Fund Facility” agreement concluded with Egypt for a period of 46 months was approved on December 16, 2022.

Hollar said, in a press statement in early June, that the Egyptian authorities are making progress on the structural reform agenda, adding that there is room to accelerate the implementation of the state ownership policy to increase private sector-led growth.

Sources revealed that the postponement was due to the recent ministerial change, which included all the ministers of the Economic Group. “Time must be given to the new ministers to study the files.”