Germany has offered Egypt $500m to support its economic programme and its small and medium-sized business sector, said the Egyptian Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr, on 3 March.

“It was agreed with the German side [that they would] provide $250m to support the economic programme, as well as $250m to support several other sectors, including micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises,” the ministry said in a statement.

The economic support was agreed during the German Chancellor’s state visit to Cairo this week. Angela Merkal was in Egypt to inaugurate the opening of first phase the of the three Siemens power plants in Beni Suef, Burullus, and the New Administrative Capital, adding 4,800 megawatts to Egypt’s grid.

It is understood 2,400MW will come from six production units in Beni Suef, 1,600MW from four production units in Borollos, and 800MW from two production units at the New Administrative Capital project.

Egypt also recently finalised a $150m loan agreement during the UK foreign secretary’s trip to Cairo in February.

The Egyptian foreign office said in a statement that UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi discussed British support for Egypt’s economy including joint work on aviation security, anti-terrorism efforts, and work to resolve regional conflicts.