{"id":14046,"date":"2025-09-27T22:14:43","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T20:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=14046"},"modified":"2025-09-29T22:15:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T20:15:25","slug":"egypt-and-the-international-monetary-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/egypt-and-the-international-monetary-fund\/","title":{"rendered":"A Decade of IMF Loans: Can Egypt Break Free in 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In mid-September, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly hinted at the possibility of not cooperating again with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the current program ends in 2026. The program, which has been ongoing for nearly a decade, provided Egypt with several loans in exchange for a series of tough economic reforms. These included the liberalization of the exchange rate, the reduction of energy subsidies, and the expansion of the state privatization program. While the government says these measures secured external financing and instilled a degree of confidence in international institutions, they also left severe social repercussions, including successive waves of inflation and a sharp decline in the purchasing power of large segments of citizens.<\/p>\n

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Madbouly\u2019s remarks\u2014made during a meeting with a group of chief editors and stressing that Egypt \u201cwill not need a new IMF program\u201d\u2014came at the same time as other striking statements by Mahmoud Mohieldin,<\/a> the United Nations Special Envoy on Financing for Development. Mohieldin warned of sluggish economic growth in Egypt<\/a> over the past 10 years and stagnant GDP indicators, questioning the feasibility of continuing on the same path.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mohieldin, a prominent figure in the field of economics whose name has also been repeatedly mentioned in connection with possible appointments as prime minister or as a member of the economic cabinet\u2014claims never confirmed nor denied by official bodies\u2014stated in a televised interview that \u201csince 2015 and 2016<\/a>, the Egyptian economy has been on a continuous track of cooperation with the IMF under what became known as the \u2018stabilization program,\u2019 which is scheduled to end in November 2026.\u201d He explained that this cooperation was tied to a crisis-management approach to the economy, but argued that the time has come to move beyond such a relationship. While necessary at the time to address financial and monetary imbalances that emerged in 2015, the arrangement imposed constraints on economic dynamics.<\/p>\n

Egypt launched its current IMF cooperation in December 2022, when the Fund approved an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) worth about $7.45 billion, set to run until October 2026. In March 2025, a new arrangement was added under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), worth about $1.22 billion, to address the government\u2019s flexible financing needs amid current economic conditions. However, Cairo has had prior programs with the IMF since 2016, starting with the first EFF that followed the currency flotation and lasted until 2019, then an emergency Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) in 2020, alongside a Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) in the same period. This makes Egypt\u2019s engagement with the IMF a nearly decade-long experience, now culminating in a program extending to the end of 2026, which serves as the reference point for any official statements about an \u201cexit from IMF programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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IMF vs. Egypt’s Military Economic Empire: IMF’s View and Egypt’s Response<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n