WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund threw a lifeline to Egypt on Friday, saying its executive board approved a new $5.2 billion, 12-month Stand-By Arrangement that aims to help the country cope with the coronavirus pandemic and plug budget and balance-of-payments shortfalls.

In a statement, the IMF said the program “would also help the authorities preserve the achievements made over the past four years, support health and social spending to protect vulnerable groups, and advance a set of key structural reforms.”