IMF anticipates increase in support to Egypt will be ‘large in size’

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva said that the expected increase in support to Egypt will be of a “large size.”

During an interview with the Asharq Business with Bloomberg website on Sunday, during the sidelines of the World Government Summit held in Dubai, Georgieva announced that the IMF’s team will reach the final stages of completing the first and second reviews of Egypt’s program “within a few weeks.”

Georgieva noted that the fund seeks “To give a dose of confidence to the Egyptian economy by enhancing the size of the support program.”

“We have identified the financing gap in Egypt and we will announce it after the completion of the negotiations.”

The IMF mission concluded its visit to Cairo earlier this month and announced progress in discussions with the Egyptian authorities.

It will continue to hold virtual meetings to determine the amount of additional support needed to bridge the growing financing gap in the country.

Bloomberg has reported about a potential deal which might bring in partners, and whose financing would exceed US$10 billion.

This comes at a time when the Egyptian economy is in crisis as a result of the severe scarcity of dollar liquidity and increasing gap between the official and parallel exchange rates of the pound, alongside a in remittances from workers abroad and exports.

The economic crisis has only been reinforced by geopolitical tensions in the region.