IMF approves deal with Egypt for USD 3 billion support package

The International Monetary Fund has approved a deal that will provide a USD 3 billion support package to cash-strapped Egypt over a period of almost four years, with the agreement expected to draw in additional USD 14 billion in financing for the Middle East country.

The announcement from the IMF’s executive board late on Friday comes after a preliminary agreement was reached in October between Egypt and the fund, hours after Egypt’s central bank introduced a series of reforms, including a hike in key interest rates by roughly 2 percentage points.

The Egyptian economy has been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in  Ukraine, events that have played havoc with global markets and hiked oil and food prices worldwide.

Egypt is the world’s largest wheat importer, most of which came from Russia and Ukraine. The country’s supply is subject to price changes on the international market.