Central bank says Egypt repaid $39bn external debt

Egypt has paid close to $39 billion in external debt service in fiscal year 2024-25, according to the central bank report.

Cairo paid $7.9 billion in the first quarter, $13 billion in the second quarter, $8.8 billion in the third quarter, and $8.6 billion in the final quarter, Daily News Egypt reported, quoting central bank data.

The repayments include interest and principal instalments.  

The country’s external debt rose to $161 billion in June 2025, up from $157 billion in March 2025, the report said.

In December, Egypt received $3.5 billion from Qatar as part of a deal to develop the $30 billion real estate and tourism project in Alam El-Rum on the Mediterranean coast.

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Alam El-Rum is nearly 50km from Ras El Hekma city, which is being developed by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, ADQ, at a cost of $35 billion.

The International Monetary Fund also reached a staff-level agreement on new reviews with Cairo, potentially unlocking a roughly $2.5 billion disbursement under the programme.

Egypt agreed to the expanded $8 billion, 46-month loan in March 2024, at a time when it was grappling with high inflation and shortages of foreign currency.