CAIRO, June 13 (Xinhua) — The U.S. and Egypt on Thursday signed eight funding agreements under which the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide Egypt with grants worth 130 million U.S. dollars to support Egypt’s development.
The agreements were signed by Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat and the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Herro Mustafa Garg in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
Al-Mashat said the “non-refundable” development grants will be directed to several priority sectors, including inclusive economic governance, education, health, agribusiness development, climate action, and water management solutions, according to a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation.
The funding comes “in light of the strategic relations between Egypt and the United States, which extend for decades,” the statement added.
In a statement by the U.S. embassy in Egypt, Garg reaffirmed “the U.S. government’s longstanding commitment to creating economic opportunity and improving conditions for all Egyptians.”
USAID’s comprehensive partnerships and programs are fully aligned with Egypt’s national strategies to grow the economy and improve lives, according to the statement by the U.S. embassy.
Over the past few years, Egypt has been suffering from a shortage of foreign currency needed for imports, which led to the devaluation of the local currency and the rise of the parallel market, causing high inflation and skyrocketing prices in the most populous Arab country.
The crisis deepened after the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out in October last year, impacting Egypt’s tourism sector and halving its revenues from the Suez Canal.
However, Egypt has recently seen a large foreign cash influx after it signed in February a 35-billion-U.S. dollar investment deal with the United Arab Emirates to develop a new resort city, Ras Al-Hekma, on Egypt’s northern coast.
