Sisi approves $1.15B support agreement from World Bank

CAIRO – 26 April 2016: President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi approved Thursday the agreement between Egypt and the World Bank Group to receive a loan that is amounted to $1.15 billion (LE 20.33 billion).

This loan comes as the third tranche of the fiscal consolidation, sustainable energy and competitive development policy financing loans that are provided to Egypt in three annual loans with a total of $3.15 billion.

In December 2017, the World Bank’s board of directors agreed upon the last tranche of development financing loan to support Egypt’s economic reform program.

This agreement aims at supporting Egypt’s economic reform program, in order to stabilize the national economy and attract investment, especially in the energy sector, to achieve energy security, as well as enabling the government to increase spending its allocations on social protection programs to increase employment rates and boost public finances.

It also targets to enhance the capability of enterprises to compete, focus on supporting social safety nets, transport, water and sanitation in rural areas, agriculture, irrigation, housing and health care, and job creation.

Egypt signed an agreement worth $500 million with the World Bank on April 22, during the spring meetings of the World Bank in Washington, to develop pre-university education.

The 2018 spring meetings took place in Washington, D.C. from April 20 to April 22, covering issues about monetary policy, the economic and social program of the government, and the progress made in the Egyptian economic reform program.

The World Bank commented on the education agreement, saying that this agreement is a five-year project to support Egypt’s education reform project, targeting to improve teaching and learning conditions in Egypt’s education system.

The five-year project will expand access to quality kindergartens for around 500,000 children, train 500,000 teachers and education officials, and provide 1.5 million students and teachers with digital learning resources.

The current portfolio of the World Bank in Egypt includes 16 projects for a total commitment of $6.69 billion, according to the World Bank’s statement.

The bank finances projects in key sectors including energy, transport, water and sanitation, agriculture and irrigation, housing, social protection, as well as health and education.