- JEDDAH: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has agreed to give $2.5 billion in loans to Egypt over the next three years in order to finance the cash-strapped country’s development projects, and export and import operations, the bank said.
IDB President Ahmed Mohammed Ali signed a series of loan agreements in Cairo with Egyptian officials in the presence of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf.
According to one agreement, IDB will give $60 million to rent equipment required for a power plant in Suez.
It will also provide technical assistance worth $300,000 to launch an education center for non-Arabs.
A grant worth $160,000 will be provided to develop methods for financing small-scale projects, the bank said.
Egypt is one the bank’s oldest members and one of the seven countries that own the majority of its shares. It has contributed 7.1 percent of IDB’s capital.
“The cooperation between Egypt and IDB has witnessed remarkable progress in recent years,” the bank said, adding that IDB had financed several development projects in the country.
Ever since its establishment in 1975, IDB financed 56 projects in Egypt by providing $900 million. It also provided assistance for 122 projects and operations and gave $2.3 billion to finance the country’s foreign trade, bringing the total IDB aid at $3.2 billion.
The bank’s finances covered various sectors including health, agriculture, water and energy.
Last month, Saudi Arabia pledged $4 billion in aid to Egypt.
The aid will be in the form of soft loans, deposits and grants, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the council, was quoted by Egypt’s MENA news agency as saying.
The agency did not provide a timeframe or other details.
Cairo has been asking donors and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help bridge a funding gap through mid-2012 estimated at between $10 billion and $12 billion in the wake of the mass protests that ousted President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11.