The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will initiate a second review of Egypt's economic reform programme by mid-September after talks with the government to include the first review in the process, said a former advisor to the fund on Saturday. The IMF's first review was originally scheduled for March, but was delayed as it coincided with the holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday followed by the IMF/World Bank annual spring meetings in Washington. Fakhry El Fiky, a former IMF advisor and Head of the Egyptian Parliament's Plan and Budget Committee In December, the IMF approved a $3 billion Extended Fund Facility loan for Egypt. Disbursements under the 46-month programme are subject to eight reviews, the first of which was supposed to take place on March 15, 2023. Fakhry El Fiky, a former IMF advisor in early 1990s who currently heads the Egyptian Parliament's Plan and Budget Committee, further said consultations between the fund and the government are still ongoing. He ruled out a new devaluation of the Egyptian currency– during the coming period by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), because this measure "may harm social peace," The central bank is tirelessly working to rebuild international reserves of foreign exchange, El Fiky added. Egypt's net foreign reserves had surged to $34.878 billion at the end of July from $34.806 billion at the end of June, according to recent central bank data. Foreign exchange reserves are sufficient to cover about six months of commodity imports, the Egyptian official said, adding that there has been a noticeable surge in balances in recent months.
