El Sisi’s latest remarks dominated last night’s talk shows: The nation’s talking heads honed in on President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s statements regarding the economic pressures the nation is enduring as the country undergoes reforms as part of its loan agreement with the IMF. “Egypt is implementing the current economic reform program amid very difficult regional and international circumstances,” El Sisi said.

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Egypt may reevaluate its agreement with the IMF as a result: “If this challenge forces me to place unbearable pressure on the public, we must review the situation with the IMF,” El Sisi said (watch, runtime: 1:45). The president also stated that Egypt has lost between USD 6-7 bn in the past 7-10 months alone — and said that such losses “may continue for another year because of the fallout that we’re seeing.”

Remember: The delayed fourth IMF loan review will focus on reforms like further subsidy cuts, building monetary reserves, capping tax breaks, and boosting revenues.

This isn’t the first time the president has made such comments: El Sisi has previously made similar comments on the impact of the IMF reform program and its conditions on citizens, with the Fund’s demands often facing criticism for being one-size-fits-all, Youm7 chairman Akram Elkassas told Salaat El Tahrir’s Faten Abdel Maaboud (watch, runtime: 7:50). The reforms have been particularly harmful to Egypt’s middle class, which has been significantly impacted by the shocks to the economy, he added.

The goal is to achieve balance: The president's directives aim to find a balance between reforming Egypt’s economy in order to tackle issues caused by global tensions while also taking into account citizens' ability to endure these reforms, professor of finance and investment Hisham Ibrahim said on Hadith El Akhbar (watch, runtime: 4:59).

International attention: El Sisi’s comments caught the attention of Bloomberg.

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