Egypt will make another payment toward its arrears to international oil companies (IOCs) before the end of 2017, the Prime Minister, Sherif Ismail, said,  Al Mal News reports.

The prime minister noted that these companies had been increasing their investments in the Egyptian economy.

Two years ago, back payments to the IOCs rose to $6.3 billion. Since that time, the government has made a commitment to draw down its arrears and make timely payments to the IOCs. After a $2.2 billion payment earlier this year, Egypt’s arrears fell to $2.3 billion, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla told Al Borsa last month.