El Garhy pens op-ed for Financial Times ahead of IMF delegation’s visit this week: Finance Minister Amr El Garhy summed up the mammoth tasks of reforms over the last two years and the IMF’s role in it in a cogent piece he penned for the Financial Times on Friday. In it, he explains why the reform agenda was necessary, how it was implemented, and how much it has cost. Through it all, El Garhy was optimistic, stressing that despite their short-term pains, economic reforms are already bearing fruit — something the IMF attested to in September. By cutting subsidies, floating the EGP, and moving towards deregulating sectors of the economy, Egypt has managed to achieve “solid economic growth of 4.1% for the 2016-17 financial year and forecasts for an estimated rise to 4.6% in the coming year and a return to pre-2011 levels by 2019.” He concludes by stressing that more needs to be done, saying: “We must continue to improve the business climate, stay vigilant on public spending and support our private sector’s ability to lead our economic development.”