São Paulo – According to information from the country’s minister of International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr, published this Monday (7th) by the newspaper Al Ahram, Egypt should receive USD 1.5 billion in loans by the end of the year, with USD 1 billion coming from the World Bank until December 19th, and USD 500 million from the African Development Bank (AFDB).
The transfer negotiated with the World Bank will be used to increase the availability of foreign currency in the forex market. The reduced amount of dollars in circulation is caused by the decline in tourism and foreign investments in the Arab country.
In November, a delegation from the World Bank, headed by the bank’s vice-president for the Middle East and North Africa, Hafez Ghanem, met with Egyptian authorities to negotiate a three-year agreement through which Egypt will receive USD 3 billion.
However, if Egypt and the World Bank confirm the agreement this month still, it should only involve the first year of the loan, with USD 1 billion. The other transfers will be confirmed in another time.
In addition to the World Bank loan, Egypt should receive a USD 500 million loan from the AFDB until December 15th. The negotiation with AFDB also foresees money transfer through the next three years, in an agreement that could reach USD 1.5 billion. AFDB’s money will be used in “urgent” infrastructure projects.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
