IMF announces the start of talks with Egypt.

Washington, January 04, 2024  (LANA) - Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, announced that, new talks will begin with Egypt in the coming weeks and preparations are being made for the two delayed reviews.

Azour said in statements published on the Al Arabiya Business website on Thursday, that the challenges that Egypt went through in 2023 may require additional financing, pointing out that the International Monetary Fund’s program with Egypt was established on the foundations of Egyptian policy that aims to maintain stability, address the problem of inflation, and protect the economy from shocks.

He added, that additional financing for Egypt is one of the matters on the table, given that additional challenges require additional financing, pointing out that financing is linked to the implementation of economic reforms, their pace and speed, their positive impact on the Egyptian economy and the financing needs of the economy.

"We are now in the review stage, and we are looking at all matters, including financing needs, part of which will be from the Fund and part of it from other sources." He continued

He explained that the program with Egypt is medium-term and aims to raise the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy and reduce the size of the public sector in favor of the private sector, which creates more job opportunities. It also aims to address imbalances and curb inflation.

=Lana=