Egypt awaits $1.3bn loan from IMF as review begins

Kristalina Georgieva/X

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will conduct its fourth review of Egypt’s loan programme on Tuesday, after which $1.3 billion is expected to be released, Egyptian prime minister Mostafa Madbouly has said.

The IMF team will collaborate with officials from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and various ministries, local media reported, citing Madbouly’s speech at a press conference.

In March, Egypt secured an expanded $8 billion loan from the IMF after agreeing to implement a set of reforms and policies.

Cairo initially signed a $3 billion, 46-month extended fund facility agreement with the IMF in December 2022.

During the press conference, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said that next week’s discussions will explore ways of supporting Egypt’s green economy goals and grant access to the resilience and sustainability facility, which helps low-income and vulnerable middle-income countries build resilience to external shocks.

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Georgieva projected Egypt’s inflation to reach 17 percent over the coming period after reaching 37 percent last year.

She also expected GDP growth to hit 4.2 percent in 2025.

Egypt’s economy has struggled with geopolitical fallout from the conflict in Israel and Gaza. In May 2024, Suez Canal revenues fell 64 percent year on year to $338 million — cutting off a crucial flow of foreign currency into Egypt.

The Arab economy has kept itself afloat by courting foreign investment, including from the Gulf.

In February, Egypt signed a deal with the UAE to develop a prime stretch of its Mediterranean coast that would bring $35 billion of investments.