Egypt: $1 Billion World Bank Financing Agreement Signed for Second Phase of Reform Programme
Egypt signed a $1 billion financing agreement with the World Bank on November 1 for the second phase of its Development Policy Financing (DPF) programme, formalising support for structural reforms aimed at improving the business environment, strengthening public finances and encouraging private sector-led economic growth. The agreement was signed by Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who also serves as Egypt's governor at the World Bank, and World Bank Division Director Alwaleed Alatabani. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly attended the signing ceremony alongside Planning and Economic Development Minister Ahmed Rostom and Deputy Finance Minister Yasser Sobhi.
The programme, titled Building Resilience, Creating Opportunities and Enhancing Wealth for Egypt's Prosperity and Stability, seeks to enhance the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy, strengthen its capacity to withstand external economic shocks and accelerate the transition towards a green economy. The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved the $1 billion financing in May 2026; the signing formalises the second operation in a series of three Development Policy Financing packages provided on concessional terms, aligned with the World Bank's 2023-2027 Country Partnership Framework for Egypt. The package also included a $200 million credit guarantee from the United Kingdom within the overall financing structure.
The second phase focuses on reforms covering state-owned enterprise governance, private investment, competition, public revenue mobilisation and government borrowing costs. The programme includes social protection measures, such as expanding the number of beneficiaries under the Takaful and Karama cash-transfer programmes, to safeguard vulnerable households during the reform process. Environmental and energy measures include improving greenhouse gas emissions monitoring, developing carbon credit markets, and strengthening the financial sustainability of the electricity and water sectors.
Development Policy Financing supports government policy and institutional reforms through funding linked to agreed policy actions, rather than project-specific investment in a single industry. The World Bank said in its May approval announcement that the wider financing operation was intended to support private sector-led job creation, macroeconomic and fiscal stability, and a greener economy.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：埃及开罗尼罗河畔天际线，Vyacheslav Argenberg 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 4.0 授权 / Photo: Cairo skyline along the Nile River, Egypt, by Vyacheslav Argenberg, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
