IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde singled out Egypt in her praise of the “courage” Arab countries have shown in implementing economic reforms, according to CNBC. “If we look at Egypt, which has gone through a really tough time, and where the Egyptian people have shown courage, and the Egyptian leader, courage — we have seen growth up more than 5 percent,” said Lagarde at the World Government Summit in Dubai. “When you see inflation going down, when you see [capital] coming back into the country, investors looking at Egypt as a good risk in which to set up new companies and create jobs, that’s the response,” she said.

“Big stabilization in Egypt is going to give rise to benefits for the people. And in all circumstances, whether it’s in Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia and all places we think of as difficult situations, we are very attentive that there be a social basis so that people who are at risk, people who are underprivileged, people who are exposed, have sufficient benefits to actually cope with the situation,” she added.

Lagarde warned, however, that changes in the world economy and energy prices mean that many countries across the Arab world need to undergo significant changes in order to survive.