(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (KUNA) -- The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday Egypt's economy is gathering strength thanks in part to 'bold, necessary' reforms. In the first review of Egypt's economic reform program, the IMF said efforts were "off to a good start." It praised the work of Egyptian authorities in adopting the 'ambitious' program to bolsters the country's finances, promotes growth and employment and implementing social protective measures for the poor. "We have seen that economic activity has been gathering strength and efforts at reining in the budget deficit have begun to bear fruit. With the liberalization of the foreign exchange market, foreign currency shortages have disappeared. Looking ahead through the end of this year and into next year, the policy mix is also supportive of a decline in inflation from the high levels in the summer," said Subir Lall, the head of the team dealing with Egypt at the IMF.
The program adopted in 2016 was launched in Egypt to correct rising economic imbalances that led to high public debt, a deficit and declining official reserves. Since its implementation, the IMF reported Egypt has improved its foreign exchange market and inflation, cut budget deficits and energy subsidies and made positive steps to increase employment of women and young people. The parliament also approved several measure to improve the business climate, such as cutting red tape for industrial licensing and easier access to financing for small and medium-size businesses.
The IMF approval of the government's program led to a disbursement of USD 1.25 billion of the USD 12 billion loan support for Egypt under its Extended Fund Facility program. "Building on the ongoing reform efforts and the restoration of confidence, Egypt has the opportunity to transition to a higher growth trajectory, and increase prosperity for all, by locking in the gains from macroeconomic stabilization and harnessing its full growth potential," according to the IMF. (end) hy.msa
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