Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly attended on Thursday the signing ceremony of a debt settlement agreement between the public business sector ministry and the petroleum ministry outlining a mechanism through which public sector companies will pay EGP 12 billion in debts to the petroleum ministry in return for their consumption of natural gas.

The agreement was signed in the attendance of Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla and Public Business Sector Minister Hisham Tawfik.

In a press conference following the signing ceremony, the petroleum minister said that the deal seeks to improve the efficiency of the petroleum sector’s companies and enable them to sustain the services they offer.

According to the agreement, the public sector companies will pay a number of their debts either in cash or with real estate assets, El-Molla explained, adding that in the future these companies will pay for their natural gas consumption on time.

The public business sector minister said that the protocol falls within the framework of the ministry’s efforts to settle the debts of its affiliate companies to improve their financial status.