Egypt signs $1.15 billion World Bank loan to boost economy

Egypt on Friday signed a deal with the World Bank for a $1.15 billion development policy loan to fund the government’s plan to boost economy.

The loan is the last in a series of three annual loans provided from 2015 to 2017 totaling $3.15 billion, the World Bank said in a statement earlier this week.

The deal was signed between Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr and the World Bank Group’s country director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti Asad Alam during COMESA’s three-day Africa 2017 forum held in Egypt’s resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, according to Al-Ahram reporter who attended the conference.

The World Bank approved the loan on Tuesday.

The $1.15 billion loan supports the Egyptian economic reform programme aimed at creating jobs, ensuring energy security, strengthening public finances and enhancing business competitiveness, the bank said.

It has been provided through financing contributions of $500 million from the World Bank Group, $500 million from the African Development Bank and $150 million from the United Kingdom.

The three loans are titled the Fiscal Consolidation, Sustainable Energy, and Competitiveness Development Policy Financing loans. Source: Ahram online