There is also considerable foreign aid pouring into Egypt,
with the main donors and lenders being the United States and
the European Union. The United States provides about $2 bil-
lion worth of aid to Egypt each year. Some of this goes toward
improving the country’s poor infrastructure, including its
drinking water and sewage systems. Much, however, is military
aid—new fighter jets and other war material, for example—
that is of little apparent benefit to the Egyptian people. Crit-
ics of foreign aid point out that it comes with many strings
attached. For example, the engineering firms hired to build the
new sewage facilities are American, so much of the money goes
back to the United States. There are also international agencies
like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank
that lend money for Egypt to invest in development projects. It
is sometimes difficult for Egypt to keep up with the payments
on these loans, and pressure from the lenders forces Egyptian
leaders to make difficult and unpopular decisions.