|
IMF says it is releasing $2.3 billion to
Egypt after reforms help to stabilize the economy
[February 26, 2026]
CAIRO (AP) — The International Monetary Fund says it allowing
Egypt to draw on about $2.3 billion from an earlier approved loan,
noting that the country has made progress in restoring economic
stability and reducing inflation as part of a reform program.
|
Egyptians walk past a poster depicting U.S. dollars and other currencies
outside an exchange office in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (AP
Photo/Amr Nabil, File) |
|
The
IMF said in a statement Wednesday that the decision to release
the funding followed reviews of the government reforms, which it
credited with bringing about “a broad-based economic recovery”
in the world's most populous Arab country. It noted that the
gross domestic product grew at a rate of 4.4% from 2024 to 2025.
A $3 billion bailout loan for Egypt approved in 2022 was
increased to $8 billion in 2024 — an effort to shore up an
economy hit by a staggering shortage of foreign currency and
soaring inflation that peaked at 38% in September 2023.
Inflation fell to 11.9% in January, the Washington-based Fund
said in its statement.
Measures that Egypt took to tackle inflation included the
flotation of the Egyptian pound and interest rate hikes.
However, the IMF noted that progress “has been uneven.” It said
that too much of the economy remains in the hands of the state,
and that “decisive efforts to reduce the state’s footprint in
the economy will be essential.”
Egypt's economy has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic,
the fallout from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and
the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Additionally, attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on shipping
routes in the Red Sea have slashed Suez Canal revenues, which is
a major source for foreign currency. The attacks forced traffic
away from the canal and around the tip of Africa.
Around 30% of the people in the nation of more than 108 million
lives in below poverty line, according to the latest government
figures.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
|
