CAIRO, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Egypt and Germany signed on Wednesday an agreement to support the Egyptian economic reform program with 250 million U.S. dollars as the second tranche of a 500-million-dollar soft loan, the Egyptian investment ministry said in a statement.

The agreement was signed by Egyptian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr, and Head of the Africa/Middle East Directorate at the German Development Bank, Helmut Gauges, in the presence of German Ambassador to Cairo Julius Georg Luy.

"Signing the agreement reflects the confidence of Germany and financial institutions in the success of Egypt's socio-economic reform program," said the Egyptian investment minister.

Nasr hailed the economic cooperation between Egypt and Germany, noting that German investments in Egypt mounted to 7.1 billion dollars in the past four years, with about 1,215 German companies currently operating in the most populous Arab country.

She also lauded the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Germany that reached 2.1 billion euros.

Egypt's economy has been suffering over the past few years because of political turmoil and relevant security issues after the 2011 revolt that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.

The country's ongoing economic reform plan is based on strict austerity measures, including tax hikes and energy subsidy cuts.

Despite the consequent price hikes and inflation rise, world financial institutions and research centers commended Egypt's reform steps and expected positive results in the near future. Enditem

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