Egyp’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has said his country is committed to paying its debts to international oil companies (IOCs).

Speaking in a meeting with the CEO of the UK’s BG Group, Helge Lund, Al-Sisi said Egypt had paid off debt to IOCs worth a total of $3bn over the past two years.

Recently, Egypt’s Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail said the country is aiming to reduce its debt to foreign oil companies to $2.9bn by the end of August, and completely pay off its debts by the end of 2016.

Currently, Egypt’s debt to IOCs stands at about $3.5bn.