Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva announced the fund’s support for Egypt’s efforts to safeguard the achievements made by the economic reform program under the completed three-year Extended Fund Facility, state-run Al Ahram Online reports.

Georgieva said in a statement on April 26 that the North African country’s economy, like other countries around the world, has been battered by the COVID-19 outbreak, the related global recession, and the turmoil in financial markets.

IMF’s managing director revealed that the Central Bank of Egypt and the Egyptian government have requested financial assistance from the IMF, under the fund’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) and a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), to contain the economic and financial impact of the pandemic and support the efforts already taken since the pandemic outbreak.

She expected the request for the RFI to be presented to the IMF’s executive board within the coming few weeks while working with the Egyptian government to support its strong set of macroeconomic policies through an SBA.

On April 26, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that Egypt is in talks with IMF for a financial assistance deal as well as technical support to cushion the pandemic’s negative implications.