Economics
IMF Mission Starts Talks in Egypt Amid Interest Rates Debate
- IMF officials have said Egypt needs to curb inflation
- Egypt expects to receive $1.25 billion from IMF by June
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An International Monetary Fund team will start its first review of Egypt’s $12 billion loan accord on Sunday, with the debate on how best to curb inflation likely to take center stage.
The IMF delegation will hold talks with Finance Ministry and central bank officials during the visit, which is scheduled to end on May 11. The talks were preceded by remarks from top IMF officials emphasizing the need for policy makers to make tackling inflation a priority. Jihad Azour, the IMF Middle East chief, highlighted interest rates as the “right instrument” to tame inflation, though he later listed them as one option among a set of tools.