Saudi Arabia to give Egypt $5 billion
The United Arab Emirates will provide a $1 billion grant to Egypt and a $2 billion loan as an interest-free central bank deposit.
By Reuters | Jul.09, 2013 | 4:46 PM
Members of the Republican Guards stand in line at a barricade blocking protesters supporting deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi (pictured in poster) near a Republican Guards headquarters. Photo by Reuters
Saudi Arabia approved a $5 billion aid package to Egypt on Tuesday comprising a $2 billion central bank deposit, $2 billion in energy products, and $1 billion in cash, the Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf told Reuters.
The United Arab Emirates will provide a $1 billion grant to Egypt and a $2 billion loan as an interest-free central bank deposit, state news agency WAM said on Tuesday.
The announcement came during a UAE delegation visit to interim head of state Adli Mansour at the presidential palace in Cairo, WAM said.
The UAE delegation included the Gulf country's national security adviser, foreign minister and energy minister.
Egypt's finances have been devastated by political and economic instability since the popular uprising that pushed Hosni Mubarak out of the presidency two and a half years ago.
The UAE's $3 billion was expected to be part of a larger financial package from the Gulf emirate, said a source close to the talks. The loan would be in the form of a deposit at Egypt's central bank, although the interest rate and maturity had yet to be finalized.
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed and National Security Adviser Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed flew to Cairo on Tuesday morning at the head of the most senior foreign delegation to visit Egypt since the overthrow on Wednesday of Mohamed Morsi.
He became president a year ago in Egypt's first freely contested election.
The delegation was coming to "show full support to the people of Egypt - political support, economic support," Egypt's foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty said earlier.
Egypt has run through more than $20 billion in reserves, borrowed billions from abroad and delayed payments to oil companies in order to support the pound since the 2011 uprising drove away tourists and foreign investors, two of its main sources of foreign currency.
