Egypt repaid nearly $30 billion in external debt in 2017 and will pay around $12 billion in 2018, a Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) source told state-owned news agency MENA on Tuesday.

In September, the CBE said that Egypt's external debt totalled around $79 billion in the fiscal year 2016-2017.

According to the source in MENA's report on Tuesday, the $30 billion paid in 2017 consisted of bonds and external debts to several international banks, including the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in addition to loans and deposits from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Libya and Turkey.

The source also stated that Egypt met its obligations to Paris Club creditors in 2017.

Egypt will pay around $12 billion in 2018, the source said, adding that the country has always paid its debts on time, even during the various crisis periods between 2011 and 2016.

Later in 2018, Egypt is expected to receive the fourth tranche of an International Monetary Fund loan totalling $2 billion.