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Following presidential elections, UAE and Saudi Arabia to provide Egypt with extra $20bn

June 1, 2014 at 10:14 am

The United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will provide Egypt with up to $20 billion in a new aid package to be negotiated following the inauguration of the new president, a senior government official told Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper on Saturday.

Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have already halted any negotiations on economic support pending the outcome of the presidential elections. The source added that Saudi Arabia has already officially informed Egypt, during talks with the former Prime Minister Dr Hazem Beblawy, that the continued support of Egypt is conditioned on the accession of Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi as president, and no one else.

According to the source, the package will include deposits in the central bank to support the Egyptian pound, which has lately suffered a drop against the US dollar. It will also include low-interest loans; investments in water and sanitation projects; schools; the financing of projects for low-income citizens and the poor; the establishment of a Saudi-funded residential city in El Alamein; financing the creation of silos for storing grain; fulfilling Egypt’s petroleum products needs; particularly gas and diesel; and encouraging investors from both countries to pump huge investments into Egypt to revive its economy.

A high-level Egyptian delegation is scheduled to visit the UAE and KSA within the next few weeks to discuss the aid package as well as projects that are being completed as part of previous aid obtained by Egypt from the two countries, the source added.

Gulf aid to Egypt following the July 3 military coup has amounted to $15.9 billion, including $6.9 billion from the UAE and $5 billion from KSA.