Egypt: Austerity measures to face consequences of coronavirus

Egyptian men wearing masks wait outside a centre of non-governmental organisation Egyptian Food Bank to receive cartons with food aid on 5 April 2020 [MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/Getty Images)]

Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli yesterday ordered his cabinet ministers to put together an austerity plan in order to deal with economic and financial consequences of the outbreak of the coronavirus, Anadolu reported.

Reporting on local media, Anadolu said the prime minister hoped that the crisis would not last too.

Last month, the Egyptian government raised its projected deficit forecast for the current fiscal year (2019/2020) from 7.2 to 7.9.

In a statement, the Egyptian Minister of Finance said this came as a result of the “negative” consequences of the coronavirus.

The International Monetary Fund on Monday approved a $2.77 billion loan to Egypt in an attempt to prevent economic collapse due to the outbreak of the pandemic.

READ: Reported coronavirus cases in Egypt jump by nearly 500

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