INTERVIEW: Egypt’s budget surplus will help in facing COVID-19 challenges, says IMF’s Jihad Azour

INTERVIEW: Egypt’s budget surplus will help in facing COVID-19 challenges, says IMF’s Jihad Azour

In an exclusive interview with Ahram Online, director of the Middle East and Central Asisa (MCD) at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Jihad Azour shared the IMF's expectations for the Egyptian economy in 2020 and 2021, and the new updates concerning the stand-by agreement (SBA) loan to Egypt.

Egypt will be the only country in MENA to see positive growth in 2020, projected at 3.5 percent, according to the IMF's updated report on the MCD economic outlook that was released on Monday.

According to Azour, achieving a budget surplus will be good for the country amid the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ahram Online: Given that the second tranche of the SBA's one-year program' loan to Egypt will be decided in December, how does the IMF see the