IMF Starts Fifth Review of Egypt’s Economic Reform Program
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Neeta Mishra
- . May 6, 2025
- . Update: May 6, 2025 9:42 pm
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has commenced the fifth review of the $8 billion economic reform program with Egypt. An IMF delegation arrived in Cairo on May 5, 2023, for a visit usually lasting until May 16, to review Egypt’s progress under the 46-month loan agreement signed in 2022.
The recent review by the IMF closely followed the fourth review approval in March, which included the release of $1.2 billion in overall resources, plus an additional $1.3 billion to help advance and support Egypt under the IMF Resilience and Sustainability Facility to maintain its financial stability.
In the previous review, the IMF agreed to Egypt’s request to lower its primary budget surplus to 4% from 4.5% of GDP for the fiscal year commencing July 1. This reduction will likely give the Egyptian government more flexibility in managing expenditure during a period of continued economic pressure.
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The outcome of this fifth review will be crucial in determining Egypt’s future economic strategy and the prospects for future funding under Egypt’s ongoing IMF-backed reform plan for budgetary support.
Egypt’s economy had some challenges over the last year and the recent months, however, the inflation in the Egyptian economy peaked at 38% in September 2023, in addition to the continued foreign currency shortage it is currently facing. In the final review, the IMF postponed the fourth review staff report in order to provide room for the Egyptian authorities to absorb it.
