18 Jul 2021

The IMF has praised the resilience of the Egyptian economy, citing the government’s “swift and prudent policy response” as the reason for Egypt’s positive economic growth rate in 2020. The IMF said that Egypt was one of very few emerging market economies to witness economic growth in 2020 at the height of the Covid pandemic and its devastating effects on economies. They said that the government’s policy responses were at the right time and in the right measures, and Egypt’s diversified economy as well as a relatively short lockdown period all contributed to a dampened shock from the pandemic and led to positive economic growth. In their view, the government’s response achieved the right balance between protecting the economy from the pandemic’s shock while simultaneously keeping debt at a manageable level to retain investor confidence.

The IMF expects the Egyptian economy to grow at a rate of 5.2% in FY21/22. As for FY20/21, they are expecting growth of 2.8%.

(Source: IMF (English) (Arabic), Egypt Today (English), Arab Finance, Mubasher, al-Ahram, al-Youm al-Saabe, al-Shurouk