CAIRO - Egypt's government approved a Eurobond programme worth around $7 billion to be issued during the 2017-2018 fiscal year that began in July, state news agency MENA quoted Prime Minister Sherif Ismail as saying on Wednesday.

The finance ministry has said it plans to hold its next Eurobond sale before the end of 2017 and will determine the currency and size in coming weeks as it looks to plug a financing gap.

(Reporting by Ali Abdelaty; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Ahmed Aboulenein) ((eric.knecht@thomsonreuters.com; +20 2 2394 8102; Reuters Messaging: eric.knecht.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))