Egypt’s Deputy PM Says Arab Countries Didn’t Provide Guarantees to AFDB
Dr. Ziad Ahmed Bahaa Eddin – Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of International Cooperation denied what was circulated regarding the guarantees which provided by the Arab Countries for the African Development Bank (AFDB) for completing the finance of the Egyptian government.
Bahaa Eddin has informed Amwal Al Ghad in an exclusive that it is not schedule of the Arab countries to grantee Egypt for AFDB with financial amounts so as to let the bank to continue its cooperation program with the Egyptian government, asserting that Egypt is one of the largest countries that contributed to the bank.
He explained that the bank and the current government are still cooperating to complete the agreed projects during the last period, but the bank stopped new funding according to special standards which don’t affect on the current political situation.
He emphasized that the Egyptian government is at the maximum limit of borrowing which prevents the resumption of new funding programs, except in the case of raising the credit rating of the state during the coming period or increase the bank’s capital.
Aly Abou-Sabaa, Vice President of AFDB said previously Egypt participated in the bank since the inception and it represents the second major country which established the bank after Nigeria, It is one of the three largest countries borrow from AFDB with Morocco and Tunisia, with a total value of up to US$4.5 billion for the three countries, more than half of which goes to fund the energy sector, which accounts for 80% of the total funding available for Egypt, in addition water, health, education sectors as well as the significant contribution made by the bank to the Egyptian financial sector reform in the amount of US$500 million.
