US approves Egypt’s economic reforms

“Everyone here praised Egypt’s economic reform programme and recognised the effort needed to make such difficult and bold decisions,” American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo (AmCham) President Tarek Tawfik told reporters in Washington as the chamber’s one-week door-knocking mission to the US capital came to an end.

The delegation, the 40th, included representatives of the Egyptian private sector and media and met with prominent business figures in the US capital.

Delegation members attended more than 90 meetings with members of the US Congress, representatives of international financial institutions, think tanks and media figures.

Merza Hassan, executive director for the Arab region at the World Bank, described Egypt’s current economic reform programme as a model the bank intends to introduce in other countries.

Egypt receives the largest portion of World Bank financing for the Middle East region, with the country acquiring some $3 billion of the $6 billion available loans.

The bank currently has a portfolio of projects in Egypt worth some $9 billion, including soft loans with long maturities, technical support and capacity building.