A delegation from the International Monetary Fund is to visit Egypt on Sunday, according to a press statement issued on Saturday by the Ministry of Finance. The IMF's delegation is visiting Cairo to evaluate the progress achieved by the government, in order to approve the second tranche—worth $1.25bn—of the IMF's $12bn loan for Egypt. The visit is scheduled to last until 11 May. Minister of Finance Amr El-Garhy said that the delegation would evaluate the plans Egypt has made to achieve the targeted GDP growth and the efforts to reduce the gap of budget and trade deficits. They also want to know Egypt's plans to control the public debt and the inflation rate, according to El-Garhy. He emphasised that the support provided by the IMF, G7 countries, and Arab countries tells that Egypt's economy is being reformed. Deputy Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk said that the government's programme aims at achieving a GDP growth rate of 5.5% by fiscal year (FY) 2018/2019. He added that Egypt aims at reducing the governmental debt to 90% of the GDP and also reducing the deficit to 3.5% of the GDP by FY 2018/2019.
