Fayza Aboulnaga: Saudi Arabia To Aid Egypt

Saudi Arabia “will start implementing” a financial aid package to Egypt this month with a $1 billion deposit in the central bank, said Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Fayza Aboulnaga.

Egyptian officials said earlier that Saudi Arabian financial aid to the country is not in jeopardy despite a mass protest in front of the kingdom’s embassy in Cairo strained ties between the two countries.

Planning and International Cooperation Minister Fayza Aboulnaga said in an interview on April 19 that the package will include a $1 billion deposit and $750 million to buy treasury bonds.

Egypt needs financial aid after last year’s uprising that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak battered the economy, cutting economic growth and reducing foreign investment and tourism, the nation’s top two sources of foreign exchange.

A $3.2 billion International Monetary Fund loan has yet to be delivered, with the organization insisting that Egyptian officials secure broad political support for the move before the aid is approved, Bloomberg reported.