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Egypt to use IMF account to help reduce Sudan’s debt

Egypt announced that it will use its share at the International Monetary Fund to help settle part of Sudan’s outstanding debts, as Cairo sees its own stability and security as being correlated with Khartoum's.

Sisi and Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L) upon his arrival for the Summit on the Financing of African Economies at the Grand Palais Ephemere in Paris on May 18, 2021. — IAN LANGSDON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt has announced its participation in the international initiative to help Sudan grow economically by leveraging Cairo's quota with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in an effort to allow Sudan pay off some of its outstanding debt.

In a May 17 speech to the Paris Conference to Support the Transition in Sudan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said, "Egypt will participate in the debt relief initiative to help Sudan secure relief through the use of Egypt’s share in the International Monetary Fund."

He also said, “The conference comes at a pivotal stage in the modern history of Sudan to consolidate the gains of the December [2018] revolution, which marked the beginning of a new era, and opened horizons of hope for the future for the brotherly Sudanese people.”

Alaa Zahran, head of the Institute of National Planning — the research arm of the Egyptian Ministry of Planning and National Development — told Al-Monitor via phone that Egypt's announcement that it will use its IMF quota to help Sudan will not affect Egypt's future borrowing opportunities. Egypt's quota is estimated at $6 billion.

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