The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that its current mission to Egypt aims to reach a staff-level agreement and bring it to the fund's executive board for approval before mid-December, Reuters reported. The mission is carrying out the final review of Egypt's current programmes, which end on December 15.

Source: Reuters

"Discussions are going to focus on maintaining a tight monetary policy, maintaining the fiscal consolidation plan, and of course all of this is aimed at preserving the macroeconomic stability that Egypt has fought hard to achieve," Julie Kozack, the IMF's director of communications, said in a scheduled briefing, according to Reuters. She said structural reforms remain a central part of the conversation, and that "the goal of these reforms is to support stronger, more private sector-led growth in Egypt."

$8 billionSize of Egypt's Extended Fund Facility programme
December 15Date Egypt's current IMF programmes end
8th reviewThe mission is carrying out the final review

Yaani, in easy terms: $8 billion is about 800 crore US dollars — the full size of the main IMF programme now coming to an end.

Egyptian business daily EnterpriseAM reported that the IMF mission arrived in Cairo earlier than expected for the eighth and final review of the $8 billion Extended Fund Facility, together with the last review under the separate Resilience and Sustainability Facility. It said the talks cover state asset sales, energy subsidies and tax, and reported that clearing both reviews would unlock about $2.3 billion — about $1.5 billion under the Extended Fund Facility and about $800 million under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility.

Source: EnterpriseAM

What happens after the programme ends

Egypt's government has said it does not plan to seek a new IMF loan programme after this one ends. Cairo is instead preparing its own National Programme for Economic Transformation 2027–2030, aimed at moving from crisis management to growth driven by productivity and the private sector, according to reporting by Zawia3 and EnterpriseAM. The board decision expected before mid-December will decide whether Egypt exits the programme with its final review cleared on schedule.