IMF Says Egypt Is Serious About Applying Flexible Exchange Rate

Egypt is “serious” about applying a flexible foreign exchange rate regime, a senior International Monetary Fund official told Arabic TV channel Asharq, as the Mideast’s most populous nation works to restore investor confidence in an economy battered by the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The remarks by Jihad Azour, the IMF’s director for the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, come after international ratings agencies and others voiced worries about the pace of reforms in the country of over 104 million people. Egypt agreed a $3 billion program from the IMF last year, but billions of dollars in extra financing expected to come mainly from Gulf Arab states has yet to materialize. 

“There is strong collaboration between the fund’s team and Egyptian authorities,” Azour said in an interview with Asharq on Wednesday. “The Egyptian government is serious about this, they’re serious about having a flexible exchange rate.” 

The first review of Egypt’s program, expected in March, has yet to take place. That delay, along with the wait for investment pledges from Gulf nations to be enacted, has deepened worries in the country grappling with its worst foreign-currency crunch and highest inflation rate in years.