Al-Sisi calls on multilateral finance institutions to reconsider soft loan criteria, conditions

Egypt President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has called on multilateral financial institutions to reconsider the criteria and conditions that qualify countries to obtain soft loans, so that they could be available to low- and middle-income countries alike, especially in light of the escalating cost of borrowing, and the increase in debt service burdens.

This came in the speech delivered by the President during the opening of the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group in Sharm El-Sheikh on Tuesday.

Several heads of African states and regional institutions participated in the inauguration ceremony, led by Ghazali El Othmani, President of the Comoros Republic and President of the African Union; Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe; and Moussa Fakih, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. There were also a large number of heads of government and finance ministers, central bank governors, a group of representatives of the private sector, academics, and development partners from 81 regional and non-regional member countries of the African Development Bank Group.

Al-Sisi said that Egypt’s hosting of the event, for the third time, is an affirmation of its deep interest in strengthening international and regional endeavours in support of development efforts in all parts of the African continent.

He said that the escalating and intertwined challenges facing the countries of the world are well known. With the emergence of signs of recovery from the negative effects of the “Covid-19” pandemic on the global economy, the “Russian-Ukrainian” crisis and international political tensions have added to the global scene, whose effects appear in severe disruptions in global supply chains, and waves of sweeping inflation.