Egypt, EU sign €1 billion deal

Egypt and the European Union are set to sign a 1 billion euro ($1.07 billion) agreement to support the macroeconomy, the Ministry of International Cooperation in Cairo said in a statement.

The €1 billion comes as part of a total package of €7.4 billion announced during the Egyptian-European summit last March, where a political declaration was signed to upgrade joint relations to the level of strategic partnership between the two sides.

Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, said that the one billion euro tranche will be made available in the second half of this year after it was signed during the (Egyptian-European) investment conference. It is the first tranche within a mechanism to support the macroeconomic and budget support worth five billion euros from the European Union.

According to the ministry’s statement, the remaining tranches are scheduled to be made available during the period 2025-2027, and the first tranche will be made available in the form of soft financing with long repayment terms and easy interest.

Earlier on Monday, the World Bank announced $700 million in financing to support the Egyptian budget as part of a three-year, $6 billion development policy program to support the Egyptian government’s efforts to increase private sector participation, improve macroeconomic and fiscal resilience, and achieve greener growth.