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The financing includes a concessional government loan of around €800 million for upgrades to Line 1 of Cairo’s metro, which dates to the 1980s. Another €1 billion of financing from AFD, France’s development agency, will cover a range of projects over the next five years.
“France will substantially increase its direct exposure to Egypt, becoming the first counter-party for government to government loans,” he said.
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| Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macro |
France said on Sunday it would provide Egypt with some €1.8 billion ($2.2 billion) in financing for projects including the Cairo metro, power generation and water management, in what officials called a major boost to bilateral cooperation.
The financing includes a concessional government loan of around €800 million for upgrades to Line 1 of Cairo’s metro, which dates to the 1980s. Another €1 billion of financing from AFD, France’s development agency, will cover a range of projects over the next five years.
Further state-guaranteed loans worth a possible €2 billion for a new metro route in Cairo – Line 6 – would be negotiated over the next six months, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said during a trip to the Egyptian capital.
France and Egypt have forged close ties since Abdel Fattah al-Sisi became president in 2014, despite differences over human rights and strong criticism of Egypt by rights activists and some foreign states.
Sisi’s domestic backers say a far-reaching crackdown on liberal and Islamist opponents has helped stabilise Egypt.
Cooperation has included billions of dollars in arms sales to a country France considers a vital partner in countering Islamist militancy. In May, France announced a new 4 billion euro deal to deliver 30 Dassault warplanes to Egypt beginning in 2024.
Le Maire said France considered Egypt a strategic partner and had chosen to expand its commercial dealings with the North African country following a visit by Sisi to Paris in December.
“France will substantially increase its direct exposure to Egypt, becoming the first counter-party for government to government loans,” he said.
Projects announced on Sunday include the construction of a railway line between Aswan in southern Egypt and Wadi Halfa in neighbouring Sudan, Egypt’s cabinet said. AFD will also provide €150 million to support building a universal health insurance programme.
Separately, the French Development Agency will finance nine other projects to the tune of €1 billion between 2021 and 2025.
With the billions in financing, Egypt has become “a strategic economic partner of France… It is the top country in terms of loans from the Treasury,” said the visiting French minister.
REUTERS
