IMF approves $2 billion loan payment for Egypt

The International Monetary Fund is lauding Egypt’s robust growth and acknowledged progress in stabilizing its economy, instilling market confidence and cutting debt.

The IMF says it approved a $2 billion loan payment to Egypt, the latest in the country’s three-year aid program.

Egypt has now received about $10 billion since the government secured a three-year $12 billion loan in 2016 and launched an austerity program that included subsidy cuts.

The previous loan portion was approved in July last year but this fourth review of Egypt’s ambitious economic reform program had been awaiting board approval since October.

Egypt’s economy is still recovering from a 2011 popular uprising and years of political instability.

— AP