On 10 May, the Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi signed a loan with the Chinese government to finance the electric railway project the will connect the new industrial cities in the outskirts of Cairo. The Chinese government will transfer the loan directly through its Export-Import Bank. From the Egyptian side, the Ministry of Transports will be responsible of the repayment of the loan, and the Ministry of Finance will be the guarantor. The agreement that the two governments signed includes a maturity period of 20 years and a grace period of a maximum of five years. This loan shows the strong interest that the Chinese government has in the region and it is not the first financial support that Beijing provides to Cairo.