French Minister of Development and Francophone, Jean-Marie Le Guen, stated that France will fund the Egyptian energy sectors with around $183m, reported Al Ahram Newspaper. Le Guen’s comments came during a meeting in Cairo with the Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr.

Egypt officially stated that around $157m of the fund will be allocated for electricity and around $26m for petroleum. However, the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation did not confirm whether the fund would be in the form of a loan or grant.

During the meeting the Egyptian and the French ministers discussed the two countries’  cooperation along with possible future development projects. These projects would include the Alexandria Tram , the Alexandria West Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion and Upgrade Project, and the Healthcare Development Program in Egypt’s governorates.

The ministers further explored the recent bilateral agreements that were signed during President, Abd El Fatah El Sisi’s, meeting with French President, François Hollande, when Hollande visited Egypt in April 2016.

During the visit, the two countries signed a number of financial deals worth more than $1.6b. They further signed several memorandums of understandings (MoU) in the fields of transport, energy, renewable energy, gas and tourism.