The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday it had reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt on the fifth and sixth reviews of its Extended Fund Facility (EFF), a move that could unlock around $2.5 billion in additional financing under the program.

The IMF said the two reviews were combined to allow Egyptian authorities more time to meet key policy objectives outlined in the EFF arrangement.

In a separate statement, the fund said it had also reached a staff-level agreement on the first review of Egypt’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), which could provide access to a further $1.3 billion. Both agreements remain subject to approval by the IMF’s executive board.

Egypt agreed to an expanded $8 billion, 46-month IMF program in March 2024, as the country faced elevated inflation and acute foreign currency shortages.

Inflation has since eased, after peaking at 38% in September 2023. Annual urban consumer inflation stood at 12.3% in November, according to official data.

Foreign currency pressures have also moderated, supported by IMF financing, record tourism revenues, higher remittance inflows from Egyptians abroad, and large-scale investment agreements with Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, valued at tens of billions of dollars.

“Stabilization efforts have delivered important gains and the Egyptian economy is showing signs of robust growth,” IMF Mission Chief for Egypt Ivanna Vladkova Hollar said.

However, the IMF said structural reforms need to be accelerated, particularly the divestment of state-owned assets, a central pillar of the program where progress has been slower than expected. In August, Egypt ratified legislative amendments aimed at speeding up the sale of state assets.

“Going forward, efforts to reduce the role of the state need to be accelerated. This includes significant further progress with the divestment agenda and additional measures to level the playing field,” Vladkova Hollar added.

The IMF has so far disbursed about $3.5 billion under the EFF program, according to Reuters calculations.