IMF mission arrives in Cairo as Egypt seeks to unlock $2.5 billion in delayed funding

Egypt’s long-delayed loan programme could be revived, unlocking about $2.5 billion in funding before the end of the year, as an International Monetary Fund mission arrives in the country for an 11-day visit.

The delegation, which reached Cairo on Monday evening, will carry out the fifth and sixth reviews of Egypt’s Extended Fund Facility simultaneously, state media reported. The two reviews have been delayed for months amid IMF concern over the pace of structural reforms and the state’s slow withdrawal from commercial activity. The fifth review was originally scheduled for June.

If completed successfully, the mission’s work would pave the way for a new disbursement consisting of about $1.2 billion from the main IMF programme and a further $1.3 billion from the Resilience and Sustainability Facility.

Shoppers at a market in Cairo. Egypt's budget deficit widened to 3.2 per cent of GDP in the first four months of 2025-2026. EPA-EFE

Egypt’s loan arrangement was expanded in March 2024 to $8 billion under the EFF, from $3 billion earlier, along with an additional $1.2 billion from the newer facility, bringing the total package to roughly $9.2 billion. So far, the country has received about $3.2 billion.

During the visit, IMF officials will meet senior members of the economic team to judge Egypt's progress in liberalising its exchange rate, cooling inflation, streamlining state spending and, most importantly, opening the way for