Egyptian official: Egypt received $500 million from Saudi as part of $2.5 billion grant

Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said on Wednesday that the country has received $500 million from Saudi Arabia, which constitutes the first instalment of a $2.5 billion Saudi grant.

The Egyptian cabinet announced last Thursday its approval of the grant agreement with Riyadh to support the Egyptian economy worth $ 2.5 billion. The agreement was signed in April by King Salman bin Abdulaziz during a visit to Cairo, but was not announced until later.

When asked by Reuters about a report that was published in a local newspaper on Wednesday about Egypt’s receipt of $500 million as the first instalment of the Saudi grant, Nasr confirmed.

The international cooperation minister did not mention any details on when the first batch was received.

Saudi Arabia is the largest oil exporter in the world and a major supporter of Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi, along with the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The three countries provided Egypt with billions of dollars after the ouster of Mohamed Morsi as president in July 2013.