Emirates and Egypt to set up joint investment platform worth $20 bn

The United Arab Emirates and Egypt are setting up a $20 billion joint strategic platform to invest in a range of sectors and assets, said the presidency on Thursday.

Egypt's newly established sovereign wealth fund and Abu Dhabi Development Holding Co. will run the investment platform.

To secure $12 billion International Monetary Fund Loan and attract foreign investment, Egypt kick-started a comprehensive economic program in 2016 with the devaluation of the currency.

The country had been struggling to revive an economy that had primarily stalled in the wake of the 2011 uprising that forced Honsi Mubarak from power after nearly 30 years.

Two Gulf Arab states and Kuwait have pumped in billions of dollars in the form of cash deposits and investments to help El-Sisi's government.

The government is touting Egypt's new wealth fund as the latest component of the economic revival. The fund aimed at helping the state better utilize its assets and to attract foreign investments that have, so far, been overshadowed by an infusion of overseas cash into the local debt market.

The government is currently in talks with the IMF for a new non-loan program as its previous three-year arrangement winds down. The IMF has urged Egypt to work harder on boosting private-sector growth as a critical driver for sustainable development in a nation of 100 million where around half live on or near the poverty line.