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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that it reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt on the fifth and sixth reviews of the country’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF), a key step that could unlock around $2.5 billion in additional financing. The reviews were combined to allow Egyptian authorities more time to meet critical reform targets outlined in the IMF-supported program.
In addition, the IMF said it has reached a staff-level agreement on the first review of Egypt’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), which could provide access to a further $1.3 billion. Both agreements remain subject to approval by the IMF’s executive board before any funds are disbursed.
Egypt secured an expanded $8 billion, 46-month IMF loan arrangement in March 2024 as it struggled with soaring inflation and a severe shortage of foreign currency. Since then, economic conditions have shown noticeable improvement. Inflation, which peaked at 38% in September 2023, has eased significantly, with annual urban consumer inflation falling to 12.3% in November, according to official data.
The country’s foreign currency position has also strengthened. The IMF noted that shortages have eased due to a combination of factors, including support from the IMF program, record tourism revenues, rising remittances from Egyptians working abroad, and major investment deals with Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates, valued at tens of billions of dollars.
“Stabilization efforts have delivered important gains and the Egyptian economy is showing signs of robust growth,” said IMF Mission Chief for Egypt Ivanna Vladkova Hollar.
Despite these gains, the IMF stressed that structural reforms must move faster. In particular, progress on the divestment of state-owned assets—a central pillar of the loan agreement—has been slower than expected. Egypt ratified legislative amendments in August aimed at accelerating the sale of state assets, but the IMF said further action is needed to reduce the state’s role in the economy and create a more level playing field for the private sector.
According to Reuters calculations, the IMF has already disbursed about $3.5 billion to Egypt under the current loan program.
