Egypt-U.S. Business Relations

U.S. Foreign Assistance to Egypt

All U.S. foreign aid is appropriated and authorized by Congress. Egypt receives the bulk of foreign aid from two primary accounts: Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and Economic Support Funds (ESF). Since 1946, the United States has provided Egypt with over USD 85 billion in bilateral foreign aid, with military and economic assistance increasing significantly after 1979. U.S. foreign assistance has been significantly decreasing over the past two decades as Egypt’s economic fundamentals continued to dramatically improve, and bilateral relations began emphasizing the notion of “trade, not aid.”

In FY 2023, aid from all U.S. agencies totaled USD 1.43 billion, with USD 1.44 billion requested for FY 2024. Currently, Egypt ranks third in the MENA region, after Israel and Jordan, in terms of assistance funds requested for FY 2024.

U.S. economic aid to Egypt is funded through the ESF appropriations account and divided into two components: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-managed programs and the Egyptian American Enterprise Fund, which was founded in 2013. Since 1978, USAID in Egypt has funded over USD 30 billion for programs in public health, education, economic development, democracy and governance. The agency also provided USD 19.3 million to help Egypt mitigate the social, economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other foreign assistance categories include Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining and Related (NADR) programs, International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) programs and International Military Education and Training (IMET). IMET facilitates long-term U.S.-Egyptian military cooperation by providing military training to Egyptian officers.