Egypt Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr on Sunday signed third and final tranche budget support loan worth US$500 million for governance reforms in Egypt with the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) country manager for Egypt Malinne Blomberg.
This is the last in a series of three annual loans worth a total of US$1.5 billion covering the fiscal years 2015-2016 to 2017-2018 for the Economic Governance and Energy Support Program-Based Operation.
The program supports Egypt’s comprehensive structural reform agenda aimed to drive fiscal consolidation, strengthen governance and efficiency in the energy sector, and enhance the business operating environment, especially for micro, small and medium-sized businesses. The current tranche will help meet the government’s financing requirements for 2017-2018.
Nasr said the signing was a strong message confirming that the Egyptian economy is moving steadily towards achieving comprehensive and sustainable development, stressing that the bank is confident in the measures taken by the government in economic reform and improving the business and investment environment.
In a statement on Sunday, Nasr pointed out that the funding will be directed to social protection, which falls within the needs of citizens and the priorities of the Egypt program, in support of the social part of Egypt’s economic reform program.
Blomberg said the broad-based reforms are expected to lead to further inflows of investments in the country, which in turn will contribute to job creation.
The African Development Bank currently has a portfolio of 30 projects in Egypt with a total commitment of US$2.4 billion.
