UAE and Egypt Central Banks Extend $1.36B Swap Line by Five Years
The two central banks renewed an AED 5 billion facility meant to widen the role of the dirham and pound in bilateral trade and investment.
Tariq Benali Tariq Benali covers business and corporate news across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted, tracking the deals, leadership moves and regulatory shifts behind the region's companies. tariq@anecdoted.com
The Central Bank of the UAE and the Central Bank of Egypt have extended their currency swap line by five years. The facility is worth AED 5 billion, or $1.36 billion.
Governors Khaled Mohamed Balama and Hassan Abdalla signed the renewal on Monday at the UAE central bank's headquarters in Abu Dhabi. Balama signed for the UAE institution. Abdalla signed for Egypt's.
The arrangement gives the two central banks a mechanism to exchange dirhams and pounds. Both said the aim is to give the two currencies a larger role in settling trade and investment between the countries, rather than routing payments through a third currency.
Balama said the renewal reflects the strength of the strategic relationship between the UAE and Egypt. It would, he said, help facilitate trade and investment flows and support financial stability. He added that a greater role for local currencies in bilateral transactions could strengthen the resilience of both financial systems.
Abdalla said the agreement builds on the financial and economic cooperation the two countries have developed. It would create broader opportunities for investment and trade, he said, and support their development objectives.
Both central banks reaffirmed their commitment to deepening banking and financial cooperation and to supporting economic growth.
Broader ties between Abu Dhabi and Cairo
The renewal lands as the two governments widen cooperation across economic, development and strategic sectors.
In June, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo. They discussed ways to deepen bilateral ties and strengthen coordination on regional and international issues, and reviewed developments across the Middle East. Both leaders stressed that stability is a foundation for long-term development.
Economic links have grown across several sectors. In 2023, Masdar and Infinity Power of the UAE, together with Egypt's Hassan Allam Utilities, signed a $10 billion agreement to develop a 10-gigawatt wind project in Egypt. Once complete, the project is expected to generate 47,790 gigawatt-hours of clean electricity a year and to help Egypt meet its renewable energy targets.
In 2025, the two countries agreed to expand cooperation in peaceful space activities, covering scientific research, space-based applications and talent development.
Currency swaps do not move goods or build turbines. They set the plumbing underneath, letting each side settle more of the trade and investment those projects generate in its own money. The renewal keeps that channel open for another five years.
