Egypt and Hungary have signed a letter of intent (LoI) where Hungary will finance its sale of 700 train carriages to the Arab nation in a deal worth 900 million euros (roughly $1 billion), said the Egyptian international cooperation ministry’s website on Wednesday.
Egypt will repay the financing over 12 years in addition to a five-year grace period at an annual interest rate of 1.26 percent, according to the ministry.
The LoI – signed between the Egyptian ministers of international cooperation, finance and transport and the CEO of the Hungarian Export-Import Bank – also includes 80 train carriages to be given to the Egyptian National Railways as a “gift” worth a 100 million euro-grant from the European country.
The deal’s signing was witnessed by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who arrived in Cairo on Tuesday along with the Hungarian ministers of foreign affairs and commerce as well as top business executives.
