The IMF says Egypt is committed to reforms and it is ready to help the country meet its financial needs, a spokesperson for the Fund said Thursday, (September 12) in Washington, D.C. 

The Fund’s mission concluded a visit to Egypt this week and made substantial progress on policy discussions toward the completion of the fourth review of IMF loan program. 

“So as you know, the managing director had a very constructive visit to Egypt, which underscored the IMF’s support for Egypt’s resilience and reform efforts to maintain economic stability. But at the same time, there are, as you know, a lot of tensions in the region. The economic outlook for Egypt, therefore, does remain challenging. And the authorities have taken key reforms. They’ve implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” said IMF Spokesperson Julie Kozack told reporters at a press briefing in Washington. 

The review, which could unlock more than $1.2 billion in financing, is the fourth under Egypt’s latest 46-month IMF loan program. The reform package and loan was approved in 2022 and expanded to $8 billion this year after an economic crisis marked by high inflation and severe foreign currency shortages. 

The IMF has also been assessing the economic hit from severe flooding in Spain, Kozack said. 

“I do want to express our our sincere condolences to Spain and the people of Spain for the for the devastating floods and the and the loss of life. In terms of the economic impact, our assessment is that the economic impact was quite localized and damage to key infrastructure such as transport, infrastructure, highways and also damage to industry has been relatively limited. Therefore, our preliminary assessment is that suggests that the growth that the impact on growth for the overall Spanish economy would be limited and we will of be in January providing our WEO update,” IMF head of communications Julie Kozack told reporters. 

And the IMF says that Argentina’s economy is stabilizing after contracting this year, and leaders there are “currently exploring the option of moving to a new arrangement” to deal with their $44 billion loan with the Fund. 

“The Argentine authorities have continued to implement their economic stabilization program, and the program is delivering impressive results. These key results include a sizable reduction in inflation, in fiscal surpluses and improved reserve coverage. There are also nascent signs of a recovery in both economic activity and also real wages. IMF staff continue to work closely with the authorities and stand ready to support Argentina and its people and entrenching the recent gains and and addressing the remaining challenges.”

A copy of the full transcript is available at IMF.orgDownload Media