Following the signing of a pact in Cairo yesterday between the United States and Egypt, under which America will supply the Nasser regime with $56, 000,000 worth of food in the next six months, talks were opened in Cairo today for World Bank financing of Egyptian development projects, according to dispatches received here from the Egyptian capital today.
George D. Woods, president of the World Bank in Washington, officially known as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which is an agency of the United Nations, met with high Egyptian officials today to discuss the possibility of forming a consortium by the Bank itself and by leading financial establishments in the countries that are members of the Bank, to participate in the financing of some of Egypt’s development projects. The Bank itself is expected to finance some of the projects through loans repayable after 15 to 20 years.
The principal Egyptian representative in those talks was Abdel Moneim el-Kaissonny, Deputy Premier for Financial and Economic Affairs, who signed yesterday the food agreement with U.S. Ambassador Lucius Battle. The pact calls for American supply of 750,000 tons of wheat and flour, 20,000 tons of edible vegetables, 3,500 tons of tobacco and 500 tons of poultry.
Another agreement will be signed in Washington next week authorizing a hard-currency lean to the United Arab Republic to cover part of this purchase. This loan of $14,600, 000 will be repaid over 20 years in dollars. The remainder of the cost of the aid will be repaid in Egyptian currency over 30 years. Of this 75 percent will be lent back to the Egyptian Government for development projects.
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