IMF Mission in Cairo Aims to Complete Egypt’s Programme With an Estimated $2.33bn
An IMF team is in Cairo for the final reviews of Egypt’s two Fund arrangements, which would release a final disbursement of an estimated $2.33 billion, the IMF said.
For Egypt, staff-level agreement and Board approval before the Extended Fund Facility expires on 15 December would complete a programme the Board approved in December 2022. The final round pairs the last EFF purchase with six of the ten tranches of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. In The Edge’s reading, the outstanding climate reforms, as much as the end-September targets, decide how much arrives on time.
Julie Kozack, the Fund’s communications director, told a press briefing on 29 October that the aim is to reach staff-level agreement and bring the reviews to the Executive Board before the facility expires. The approach to these final reviews was set out here on 2 October; the mission is now in the field.
Six climate tranches and the last EFF purchase make up the final sum
The staff report for the seventh review schedules the eighth and final EFF purchase at SDR 1,113.02 million. It is linked to quantitative targets for the end of September 2026.
The third review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility carries SDR 600 million. It is paid in six equal tranches, each tied to a reform measure, and the schedule makes both final reviews available from 15 November 2026.
Together the two come to SDR 1.71 billion. The Fund valued one SDR at $1.35255 on 29 October. At that rate the final disbursement is worth $2.32 billion, in line with the estimate given at the briefing.
The schedule is weighted toward the end. The two final EFF purchases are the largest in the programme, together worth 36.4% of the facility, and the RSF’s last review carries 60% of that arrangement.
Extended Fund Facility purchase schedule (in SDR millions)
| Review | Available | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Approval | 16 Dec 2022 | 261.13 |
| First | 15 Mar 2023 | 261.13 |
| Second | 15 Mar 2024 | 356.98 |
| Third | 15 Jun 2024 | 618.11 |
| Fourth | 15 Sep 2024 | 922.87 |
| Fifth | 15 Mar 2025 | 732.72 |
| Sixth | 15 Sep 2025 | 732.72 |
| Seventh | 15 Jun 2026 | 1,113.01 |
| Eighth | 15 Nov 2026 | 1,113.02 |
| Total | 6,111.69 |
Proposed schedule in the staff report for the seventh review (Table 12b), dated 17 July 2026; total access equals 300% of Egypt’s IMF quota of SDR 2,037.1 million.
Three quarters of the combined access has already been made available
The Executive Board’s completion of the seventh EFF review and second RSF review on 30 July, set out here earlier, brought purchases and disbursements under the two arrangements to an estimated SDR 5.4 billion, the Fund said. On the schedule, that is SDR 5,398.67 million.
Combined access under the two arrangements is SDR 7.11 billion. At the 29 October valuation, the two together are worth $9.62 billion, close to the total set out here on 2 October; the final reviews account for the remaining 24.1%.
The climate facility pays out reform by reform. Four of its ten tranches had been released by the end of the second review, worth SDR 400 million. Under the EFF, SDR 4,998.67 million had been made available by then.
Egypt’s two IMF arrangements (in SDR millions)
| Arrangement | Total | Final review |
|---|---|---|
| Extended Fund Facility | 6,111.69 | 1,113.02 |
| Resilience and Sustainability Facility | 1,000.00 | 600.00 |
| Total | 7,111.69 | 1,713.02 |
Final review means the eighth EFF review and the third RSF review in the staff report’s proposed schedules (Tables 12b and 12d). RSF access equals 49% of quota.
Tight money, fiscal consolidation and divestment lead the agenda
The communications director said the talks will focus on keeping monetary policy tight and maintaining the fiscal consolidation plan. Both aim to preserve “the macroeconomic stability that Egypt has fought hard to achieve” and to strengthen resilience.
The team will also discuss stronger revenue mobilisation, to reduce debt vulnerabilities and rebuild fiscal buffers. On structural reform, the priorities repeat those set out here on 2 October: faster divestment, the state ownership policy, a level playing field for private firms and better governance of state companies.
The July staff report found all end-March 2026 quantitative performance criteria met, except a temporary breach of the ceiling on central bank lending to public entities that was corrected. The updated State Ownership Policy and an annual plan to cut gross financing needs were completed as prior actions.
On the day of the briefing, the Central Bank of Egypt raised its key rates by 100 basis points, as set out here on 29 October. The overnight deposit rate rose to 20.0% and the lending rate to 21.0%. The new rates take effect on 1 November.
Inflation eases to 13.9% as the review opens
Annual headline inflation eased to 13.9% in September and core inflation to 14.1%, the Central Bank of Egypt said in the release set out here on 29 October. Headline inflation was 14.3% in June. In July the Fund projected a rise to 16.7% in the second half of 2026.
The central bank’s nowcast, also set out then, puts real GDP growth in the third quarter near the 4.7% recorded in the second quarter of 2026. Net international reserves reached $57.35 billion at the end of September, as set out here on 7 October. The final disbursement would equal 4.0% of that stock.
The external accounts closed fiscal 2025/26 with an overall balance of payments surplus of $2.8 billion, as set out here on 12 October.
The July staff report also set out what remains to be delivered: staff described implementation and enterprise risks as significant, and the Fund’s release said divestment had progressed more slowly than anticipated, with proceeds reaching an estimated $520 million. Egypt’s outstanding IMF credit stood at SDR 7.46 billion at the end of September, 3.7 times its quota.
What to watch:
15 December 2026: the Extended Fund Facility expires; the Fund aims to take the final reviews to its Executive Board before then.
17 December 2026: the next scheduled meeting of the Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee.
Figures are from the IMF’s press briefing transcript of 29 October 2026, its press release 26/271 of 30 July 2026, Country Report No. 26/224 (staff report dated 17 July 2026), its SDR valuation of 29 October 2026 and its Egypt country page, and from Central Bank of Egypt releases of 7, 12 and 29 October 2026; percentages, sums and dollar conversions not attributed to a source are The Edge’s calculations.
Sources: International Monetary Fund, Central Bank of Egypt, The Edge.
