The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has excluded Egypt from its upcoming Executive Board meeting, postponing discussions on approving a disbursal of $820 million. This marks the second time Egypt has been left off the agenda. The Executive Board was initially scheduled to discuss the loan tranche on July 10th, but that meeting was already postponed to July 29th. Now, with the latest update, Egypt is absent from the agenda for the rest of July, which includes discussions for other countries, including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Zimbabwe. On July 11, Julie Kozack, Director of the Communications Department at the IMF, reassured that the Fund's staff and Egyptian authorities had agreed on comprehensive policies and reforms for the review, saying "Staff is actively engaged with the Egyptian authorities." Kozack further explained that the postponement "is not unusual and is related to the need to finalise some details," and does not signal any change in the IMF's commitment to supporting Egypt. However, Kozack did not disclose the nature of these details, fueling speculation about the reasons behind the repeated postponement of the meeting to approve the third tranche.
