Egypt cabinet approves 15% reduction in budget's investment plan

Egypt’s cabinet today approved a 15 per cent reduction in the state budget’s investment plan for the fiscal year 2023/2024, according to a governmental statement, Reuters reports.

The cabinet also said new projects would not be started this fiscal year, but projects that are 70 per cent or more complete will be prioritised.

This comes as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said today it was continuing to engage with Egypt on the policy and financing package that could support moving forward with programme reviews under its $3 billion loan with the country.

In October last year, the IMF agreed to grant Cairo the loan, adding that the loan programme would include “policies to unleash private sector growth including by reducing the state footprint, adopting a more robust competition framework, enhancing transparency, and ensuring improved trade facilitation”.

Egypt began seeking a new IMF loan after Russia’s war in Ukraine pushed up its bills for wheat and oil while dealing a blow to tourism from two of its largest markets, Ukraine and Russia.