The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $2.5bn financing package for Egypt, with approximately half to be disbursed immediately, according to statements from the IMF and the Egyptian Ministries of Finance and Environment. Of the total, $1.2bn will be promptly disbursed as the latest tranche of Egypt's current $8bn programme, the IMF said in a statement on Tuesday. The move comes as the IMF urged further reforms for the country, which is seeking to emerge from its worst economic crisis in decades. The IMF also agreed to provide $1.3bn of new financing via a Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RST). These funds, according to the Egyptian ministries, are intended to support the implementation of Egypt's Climate Change Strategy 2050 and its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) plan for 2030. They will be disbursed in tranches and used to tackle challenges related to climate change. According to the ministries, the funding forms part of a package of structural reforms aimed at supporting the national strategy. The strategy was developed jointly by several state ministries and agencies, with participation from the Central Bank of Egypt, Mohamed Nasr, Egypt's Ambassador in Vienna and chief negotiator for financing, representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in coordination with a range of government bodies. The package of structural reforms to be implemented includes 10 reforms across four key areas: accelerating decarbonisation in Egypt; analysing financial risks related to climate change; enhancing climate-related data and risk management; building adaptive capacity; strengthening the financial sector's resilience to climate change and supporting climate finance; and identifying, measuring, and disclosing the impact of investment plans, programmes, and projects on national climate change goals. The Egyptian ministries said the agreement will strengthen Egypt's position ahead of the upcoming COP30 climate conference and underlines that climate change is a top priority on the political leadership's agenda.
