The International Monetary Fund’s executive board announced on Friday that it will decide on Egypt’s request to obtain a $5.2 billion loan under its Stand-By Agreement (SBA) on Friday 26 June, according to the board’s calendar published on the IMF website 

The SBA loan programme entails specific financial and fiscal conditions to be fulfilled by Egypt.

The funds would be disbursed in tranches in 2021.

The loan, if approved, will be an integral program in a fast-tracking pace over one year for the transition phase that is expected to see the reopening of Egypt’s economy and the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, in addition to maintaining Egypt’s economic reform gains and boosting the recovery efforts, according to the director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF, Jihad Azour.

On 26 April Egypt has filed a request to receive two loans under the SBA and the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to address the repercussions of the coronavirus crisis. It received $2.4 billion under the RFI in May.