CAIRO – Egypt expects to receive a €1.5 billion ($1.72 billion) payment from the European Union within days under a broader €7.4 billion financial support package, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Saturday, as Cairo seeks to shore up its economy against the impact of regional conflicts and declining Suez Canal revenues.
Speaking at a joint news conference in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital with European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica, Abdelatty said the forthcoming transfer would represent the first of two remaining €1.5 billion instalments from the EU’s €5 billion macro-financial assistance programme.
Suica, who was visiting Cairo, said the payment would be released shortly and described Egypt as “an indispensable partner” for stability in the Mediterranean, underlining the growing strategic partnership between Cairo and Brussels.
Abdelatty said Suica’s visit reflected the momentum in Egypt-EU relations, with discussions focusing on strengthening economic and investment cooperation and implementing the EU’s wider €7.4 billion support package announced in 2024.
He said the European Union had already disbursed €2 billion of the programme, leaving €3 billion in budget support still to be transferred in two equal instalments.
“We expect the first tranche, worth €1.5 billion, to be disbursed within the coming days,” Abdelatty said.
He added that Egypt hoped the second €1.5 billion payment would be released during the autumn to help the country cope with the economic fallout from regional and international crises.
The minister said Egypt had suffered losses of about $10.5 billion in Suez Canal revenues as shipping traffic through the Red Sea declined because of regional instability, dealing a major blow to one of the country’s principal sources of foreign currency.
Suica confirmed that the European Union would release the €1.5 billion payment as the next instalment of the agreed financial package, saying relations between Egypt and the bloc were entering a positive phase of closer coordination and cooperation.
The EU’s €7.4 billion package includes €5 billion in macro-financial assistance for Egypt’s budget, €1.8 billion in investment guarantees designed to encourage European and Egyptian private-sector investment, and €600 million allocated to technical assistance, training and capacity-building. The funding is scheduled to be disbursed through the end of 2026.
The announcement comes days after Egypt said it had reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund that could unlock approximately $1.64 billion in additional financing, subject to approval by the Fund’s Executive Board.
The IMF approved its financing programme for Egypt in December 2022, with subsequent disbursements tied to periodic reviews of the country’s economic reform commitments. The anticipated EU funding would provide further support for Egypt as it faces persistent inflationary pressures, high financing needs and the economic consequences of conflicts affecting trade and regional stability.