EGYPT'S FOREIGN DEBT

CAIRO : Egypt's foreign debt has climbed more than 10 per cent in less than a year, reaching $88.2 billion in March, the central bank said Monday, despite a raft of painful austerity measures aimed at cutting government spending.

Foreign debt is 11.6 percent higher than in June of last year, but the central bank said the debt to GDP ratio is till within ''safe limits according to international standards,'' at 36.8 percent.

Egypt has been struggling to revive its economy after the years of unrest that followed the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

The government secured a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund in 2016 for an economic reform program that included slashing fuel and electricity subsidies, imposing a value-added tax and floating the currency.

Foreign debt stood at $67.3 billion in December 2016.

Egypt recently introduced a new wave of price hikes for fuel, drinking water and electricity, as well as for new cellular phone lines and cell phone bills.

Prices for issuing passports and car licenses also went up steeply.

The austerity measures have taken a heavy toll on poor and middle-class Egyptians.

President Abdel-Fattah eI Sissi, who was re-elected earlier this year in a vote in in which all potentially  serious rivals were arrested or withdrew under pressure, has repeatedly  called on Egyptians to be patient, saying-

Long over-overdue reforms will pay off with time.

Last month, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly said Egyptians should start benefiting  from the reform program within two years.

The IMF praised the reforms in May, pointing to the country's 5.2 percent growth rate, a percentage point higher than the previous year.

Egypt says its foreign reserves have increased to $44 billion as of May, the highest level since before the 2011 uprising. [AP]