Egypt’s external debt burden eased in the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2023/24, inching down to $164.521bn from $164.727bn at the end of the previous quarter. This welcome decline is driven by a drop in long-term debt, which stood at $134.252bn in September 2023, down from $136.577bn in June. The government played a key role in reducing external debt, with its liabilities falling to $82.527bn from $83.428bn, all of it long-term. This breakdown includes $24.563bn in long-term debt and $19.822bn in short-term debt. Banks’ external debt remained largely stable at $20.905bn, with a slight decrease from $20.978bn in the previous quarter.
