(AFP Photo)
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia has called for a conference to discuss economic support for Egypt following Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s formal announcement as Egypt’s new president on Tuesday.
“The conference is expected to be held after the formation of the new cabinet,” said Mohamed Hassan, Head of Media at the Ministry of International Cooperation.
The Ministry of Planning and the Saudi Embassy in Egypt said there is no additional information on the timing or the participating countries in the conference until now.
Meanwhile, Minister of Industry, Foreign Trade and Investment, Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, met with Kuwaiti Ambassador to Egypt, Salem Al-Zamanan. Al-Zamanan said Kuwait is interested in economically supporting Egypt in the coming period, by boosting bilateral trade and Kuwaiti investments, a statement from the ministry said.
Also discussed at the meeting were the preparations for the 25-26 June meeting between Egyptian and Kuwaiti representatives, to highlight boosting the economic relation between both countries.
The Gulf countries have pledged a total of $12bn in economic aid to Egypt following the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July. This has included $5bn from Saudi Arabia, $3bn from the UAE and $4bn from Kuwait, in the form of cash grants, deposits and petroleum products.
In January 2014, state-owned Al-Ahram reported Saudi Arabia was expected to give Egypt up to $4bn in additional aid in the form of central bank deposits and petroleum products.
An additional $2.8bn (EGP 20bn) in aid was pledged to Egypt from the UAE, following an agreement signed between both countries in October 2013 to finance development projects. Egypt’s government said the UAE aid will be used to fund its second economic stimulus package, which was announced in December 2013.
Egypt suspended its two-year negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a $4.8bn loan due to the influx of cash, according to 2013 statements from former Minister of International Cooperation, Ziad Bahaa El-Din.
Despite the aid packages Egypt has obtained from the GCC, the IMF’s Chief-of-Mission in Egypt, Christopher Jarvis, noted in April that the country still needs financial assistance to achieve economic prosperity. Jarvis added that the aid could come from Gulf countries, the IMF or other financial institutions.
The on-hold discussions with the IMF are scheduled to resume after the presidential elections according to comments made by Minister of Finance Hany Kadry Dimian in April. Dimian stressed at that time that negotiations with the international body will not take place “before we have an elected government and before we implement some tough economic-reform measures”.
