Egypt discussing possible new IMF cooperation

Egypt is discussing possible further assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help it carry out structural reforms once its current three-year IMF programme ends next month, its central bank governor said on Thursday.

“The government and the IMF are reviewing to see if there is any area for cooperation. There are still discussions on the subject, consultations,” Tarek Amer told reporters.

“We did fiscal reform and monitoring reform. Now we are doing structural reform. We are looking to see if the IMF can help on the subject of structural reform.”

Egypt signed a three-year, $12 billion Extended Fund Facility on Nov. 11, 2016, after allowing its currency to weaken sharply, implementing a valued-added tax and raising fuel prices to reduce its balance of payments budget and deficits.