The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on October 31 it reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt to disburse another USD 2 bn in funds, bringing the total disbursements under the program to nearly USD 10 bn, out of the country’s USD 12 bn extended fund facility arrangement, Invest-Gate reports.

“The staff-level agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board,” IMF said in an official statement.

The IMF team, which visited the country on October 18-31, said in its review that the country’s economy “has continued to perform well, despite less favorable global conditions, supported by the authorities’ strong implementation of the reform program.”

They explicitly praised the surge in Egypt’s GDP growth from 4.2% in FY 2016/17 to 5.3% in FY 2017/18, which ended last June, in addition to a decline in unemployment to below 10%.

“Egypt’s fiscal policy in 2018/19 and beyond will continue to aim at keeping general government debt on a clearly declining path and achieving a primary surplus of 2% of GDP,” according to IMF’s review.

“The government also remains committed to continuing energy subsidy reforms and raising revenues which will help create fiscal savings to invest in a well-targeted social safety net, human development including health and education, and infrastructure,” the statement noted.

Egypt’s general debts have reached its highest level at EGP 3.7 tn in June. The foreign debt has increased by 17.2% year-on-year at the end of June 2018 to reach EGP 1.7 tn, with experts estimating that it could leap to EGP 1.8 tn by year-end.

According to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), between 2019-2028, the country will work on paying off around USD 65 bn of its foreign debts, which represent around 68% of the country’s medium- and long-term loans.