We should expect to hear from the IMF’s Executive Board in a few weeks’ time on signing off on the second USD 1.25 bn tranche of Egypt’s USD 12 bn extended fund facility, Finance Minister Amr El Garhy hinted in a CNBC interview (runtime: 2:59) on the sidelines of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s second annual meeting in South Korea.

El Garhy told CNBC’s Martin Song that inflation is now the most significant economic challenge facing the country and the government is committed to bringing it down to 12-13% by 2018. The Ismail government will stay the course on subsidy cuts, though some areas may be trimmed over three years and others over five.

In the second part of the interview (runtime: 3:04) which aired Friday, El Garhy dismissed remarks by Qatar’s Foreign Minister which suggest that Egypt and the GCC countries engaged in a blockade against Qatar might suffer economically as a result. He states that the blockade was a matter of principle, and the reasons behind the blockade were more vital than the monetary consequences threatened by Qatar. Catch the full English transcript of the interview.