Egypt’s foreign debt fell by $7.4 billion in the first quarter of the year, reaching $160.6 billion by the end of March 2024, according to data released by the country’s central bank.
The foreign debt, of which 84.2% is long-term, was equivalent to 39.8% of GDP.
The number marks a significant decrease from the $168.0 billion in foreign debt Egypt had accumulated at the end of December 2023. Over the past decade, the country had quadrupled its external debt, as a means of obtaining funds to develop infrastructure projects, increase its defence spending and support its currency.
Egypt’s debt reduction was mainly attributed to the sale of development rights to prime Mediterranean land at Ras El-Hekma to the United Arab Emirates for $35 billion, signed in February 2024.
The country is set to receive a $8 billion financial support package from the International Monetary Fund, which requires Egypt to commit to a free-floating currency. The IMF disbursed an initial $820 million in March, with the rest to be drawn in semi-annual instalments until September 2026.
Egypt’s government has said it seeks to achieve a growth rate of 4.2% and average growth rates exceeding 5% between 2024 and 2027.
