World Bank offers Egypt $5m technical grant

The World Bank had agreed to offer Egypt a technical grant worth $5 million, Trade and Industry Minister Mounir Fakhri Abdel Nour.

The grant will be provided to the Industrial Development Authority (IDA), General Authority for Investment (GAFI) and Egyptian Regulatory Reform and Development Activity (ERRADA), Abdel Nour said.

The grant aims to improve the climate atmosphere in Egypt by carrying out reforms to ease the procedures for issuing industrial operation and registration licenses, the minister said.

The government is keen to resume the economic reform plan it had started, which pushed Egypt to top the list of African countries with highest foreign direct investment (FDI) growth rates in 2014, he said.

The Egypt's FDI hit $18 billion in 2014 with a growth of 42%, he said.

Abdel Nour made the remarks during a meeting with a WB delegation led by Director for Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice Cecile Fruman on Thursday.