Xinhua
22 Nov 2020, 00:00 GMT+10
CAIRO, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi praised on Saturday the economic performance of the Egyptian government despite the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic, commending the positive outlook of the Egyptian economy stated by world financial institutions including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The government's efforts "were praised by major international financial institutions, foremost of which is the official announcement of the IMF experts that the performance of the Egyptian economy has exceeded expectations," Sisi said in a statement.
He hailed the ability of the Egyptian economy to deal with the outbreak of the coronavirus, attributing it to "the accurate implementation of the economic reform program."
On Thursday, IMF experts said in a statement that "the Egyptian economy has performed better than expected despite the pandemic. Containment measures, supported by the authorities' effective crisis management, and strong implementation of their policy program helped mitigate the effects of the crisis."
The IMF team said it has reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt after the first review of the country's economic program supported by an IMF 12-month 5.2-billion-U.S.-dollar loan agreement approved in late June.
The team noted that a tranche of 1.6 billion dollars will be available to Egypt after the approval of the IMF executive board.
"Continued strong program implementation, including sustained progress in key structural reforms, is vital to build resilience. This will also ensure that investors remain confident in the outlook for Egypt," said the IMF.
It added, however, that while domestic activity shows early signs of recovery and financial market conditions have improved in Egypt, "key sectors like tourism remain at an almost standstill and risks linger particularly amid a second global wave of COVID-19 infections."
The IMF statement also projected Egypt's growth rate to decline from 3.6 percent in the fiscal year 2019/20 to 2.8 percent in 2020/21 because of pandemic-related impacts.
Before the last agreement, the IMF already provided Egypt with a three-year 12-billion-dollar loan to help the country implement an austerity economic reform program that started in late 2016, implementation of which was later described by the IMF as a success.
Get a daily dose of International Travel News news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to International Travel News.
More InformationREDMOND, Washington: Artificial intelligence is transforming Microsoft's bottom line. The company saved over US$500 million last year...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: A federal rule designed to make it easier for Americans to cancel subscriptions has been blocked by a U.S. appeals...
BASTROP, Texas: In a surprising turn at Elon Musk's X platform, CEO Linda Yaccarino announced she is stepping down, just months after...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak will return to Goldman Sachs in an advisory role, the Wall Street...
LONDON, U.K.: Physically backed gold exchange-traded funds recorded their most significant semi-annual inflow since the first half...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Some 32 percent of global semiconductor production could face climate change-related copper supply disruptions...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Travelers at U.S. airports will no longer need to remove their shoes during security screenings, Department of Homeland...
PARIS, France: A strike by French air traffic controllers demanding improved working conditions caused significant disruptions during...
(250712) -- TEWO, July 12, 2025 (Xinhua) -- An aerial drone photo taken on July 11, 2025 shows the scenery of Zhagana Village in Tewo...
Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) [India], July 12 (ANI): Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav took a holy dip in the Shipra river at Narsingh...
New Delhi [India], July 12 (ANI): Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday distributed compensation cheques to people who lost their...
NANCHANG, July 12 (Xinhua) -- In China, many historic sites continue to captivate visitors thanks to their ties to celebrated literary...