Egypt’s foreign debt rose to $79 billion in the 2016-17 fiscal year which ended in June, up 42 percent from 2015-16, the central bank said.
The cash-strapped country has been borrowing from abroad to fund its budget deficit and boost its balance of foreign reserves after a years-long dollar shortage sapped its ability to import and slowed economic activity.
“Foreign debt is within the safe amounts as per international standards,” the bank said in a report that came out late on Thursday.
