The highlight of last night’s talk shows: Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi’s extensive chat with IMF mission chief Celine Allard on the state of (and outlook for) the Egyptian economy as we finalize drawdown from our USD 5.2 bn standby loan program with the international body. The interview covered what the fund thinks Egypt is doing right and wrong, and what the Egypt-IMF relationship will look like now the 12-month program is over. You can watch the full interview here (watch, runtime: 44:01).

Authorities have managed “well” to weather the economic shock caused by covid, owing to “prudent and timely policies,” alongside fiscal and monetary support that has preserved economic stability — “a very important balance to strike,” Allard said (watch, runtime: 4:45). Egypt is on track to return to pre-covid growth levels, and despite the increased allocations for healthcare and tourism spending in the FY2021/2022 state budget, the country’s budget deficit is expected to continue narrowing, she said.

“Social protection has been very important [to Egypt]” to handle the pandemic’s economic fallout. The expansion of financial assistance for low-income groups, especially the Takaful and Karama programs which are now covering more than 3.6 mn households, has been vital to prevent the virus and the ensuing lockdown measures from inflicting lasting harm, according to Allard.

Increased spending flexibility will help speed up the country’s vaccine rollout: Having the ability to purchase more vaccines and upping the local production of jabs will only benefit the country’s post-pandemic economic recovery (watch, runtime: 3:17).

Further structural reform to boost private-sector involvement in the economy will be crucial for Egypt’s continued economic development, as would maintaining its current levels of economic support, she said.

Al Mashat talks about her new book: El Hadidi also sat down with International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat, who last night announced the launch of her new book documenting Egypt’s international cooperation and development finance experience (watch, runtime: 14:05). The book aims to serve as a manual for developing and emerging countries so that they can learn from Egypt’s reform experience, the minister said.

We discussed the new book with Al Mashat last week: Check out the interview here.

Also on the airwaves last night:

• Tourism: Tourism Minister Khaled El Enany discussed the ministry’s upcoming promotional campaign with Lamees El Hadidi. During the interview he said that as many as 1.5 mn tourists visited Egypt between March and May. (Kelma Akhira | watch, runtime: 14:09)
• New ins.: Egyptians will have to pay EGP 300 in mandatory ins. coverage when issuing or renewing their passports as of 1 July, Hesham Ramadan, assistant to the Financial Regulatory Authority’s chairman, said. (Kelma Akhira | watch, runtime: 14:58)