An African Development Bank (AfDB) delegation will visit Egypt during the period from June 29 until July 5, Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr announced Tuesday. The minister said that the visit would aim at holding talks with senior government officials regarding the second tranche of AfDB's US$1.5 billion loan to support Egypt's state budget. Earlier in January, Egypt received US$500 million as part of a $1.5 billion loan agreement reached between Egypt and the African bank last December. The AfDB's loan is of 0.6 percent interest, with a five-year grace period to be paid over 20 years. Nasr arrived in the Zambian capital Lusaka on Monday to chair Egypt's delegation at the AfDB annual meetings. The minister participated at several high-level events, at the level of heads of states and governments, held on the sidelines of the AfDB annual meetings, on behalf of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Nasr is expected to hold several meetings with heads of African delegations participating at the annual meetings to activate various cooperation areas between Egypt and Africa, thereby promote the achievement of regional integration in the African Continent, according to a statement released by the Ministry of International Cooperation on Monday.
