Egypt’s foreign exchange reserves are sufficient to meet import needs for a period of 7 months, which is a higher rate than international averages, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Ramy Abu El Naga said Wednesday.
Abul-Naga pointed out in an interview with “Al-Arabiya” to the $ 2.8 billion rapid financing package for Egypt from the International Monetary Fund, emphasizing Egypt’s ability to knock on the gates of financing institutions to boost these reserves in case future needs arise.
On Monday, the International Monetary Fund said its executive board approved $2.77 billion in emergency financing to help Egypt grapple with the new coronavirus pandemic that has brought tourism to a standstill and triggered major capital flight.
He said that there are talks with the International Monetary Fund on a second package of financial support.
On the $6 billion financing package expected from the IMF, Abul-Naja said that negotiations haven’t ended yet, and the amount is close to that and is subject to some negotiations, and will depend on the final form of the program targeted from this financing.
Abul-Naga explained that the first part of the financing package that Egypt agreed upon with the IMF is the fast financing instrument with a value of $ 2.8 billion, while the second package is the credit preparedness program that is being agreed upon at the present time.
He added that Egypt’s economy is large and diversified, and depends in part on external financing, stressing that Egypt has the ability to obtain the necessary financing to fill any future gaps that may arise.
He pointed to the historical level of Egypt’s foreign exchange reserves that had reached more than $45 billion, which exceeds its needs.
The deputy governor of CBE stressed that the central bank has strengthened the position of the foreign reserve to face crises, and therefore we had in the last stage an insatiability to ensure the value of the reserve at very safe levels that exceeded the international safety standards recommended by the IMF or other relevant institutions.
He stressed that the Monetary Policy Committee in the central bank will hold tomorrow its periodic meeting that takes place every 6 weeks to consider all the developments of the monetary policy and takes into account all the analyses conducted by the central bank teams, in order to determine the general direction of the monetary policy.
Egypt Today
14/05/2020
