US allocates $130m development funding to Egypt

Alamy via Reuters

• US funding many projects in Egypt
• $35m going to higher education
• USAID provided $238m last year

The US has allocated funding of $130 million for a range of developmental projects in Egypt, it was announced on Thursday.

In a press release published by the US Embassy in Cairo, ambassador Herro Mustafa Garg said that the money would go towards “advancing Egyptian efforts to achieve a brighter, healthier, and more prosperous future for generations of Egyptians to come”.

A separate statement issued by the Ministry of International Cooperation said that the money will be split between eight “non-refundable development grant agreements” across various fields including economic governance, education, health, agriculture, climate action and water resource management.

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The largest single proportion of the money ($35 million) will go towards the US-Egypt Higher Education Initiative, which provides scholarships for Egyptian students to study in the US and promotes cooperation between Egyptian and American higher education institutions.

Another $26.9 million will go towards mutual trade and investment programmes, while $14.5 million will go towards strengthening agribusiness.

A further $15 million will go to a targeted health outcomes programme and $13.5 million to the Comprehensive Economic Government programme, intended to support low-income workers and promote women’s access to the workforce.

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The remainder of the money is divided between a basic education programme ($12 million), integrated water initiatives ($7.5 million), which aims to facilitate 160,000 rural Egyptians with water and sanitation infrastructure, and a programme to address climate change ($5.5 million). 

In announcing the deal, minister of international cooperation Rania al-Mashat praised the partnership between the US and Egypt and credited it for addressing challenges in education, development and for increasing investment in human capital and empowerment of women.

According to the US Agency for International Development, the agency contributed an annual average of $157.6 million to Egypt over the past 10 years. Last year, USAID contributed $237.9 million, while total aid to Egypt across all agencies was almost $1.5 billion.