The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) expects a deposit pledged by the United Arab Emirates valued at $2bn to support the foreign exchange reserves before the end of May, according to the CBE’s governor Tarek Amer.
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced several days ago that the UAE will provide Egypt with $4bn, including $2bn which will be deposited in the CBE. The other half of the pledged support will be applied in investments in a number of development sectors in Egypt.
According to Amer, there are negotiations underway with the Emirates in order to receive the deposit before the end of May.
Amer said there is no delay in the receipt of the deposit, but there are procedures and details that are still pending.
Tarek Fayed, deputy governor of the CBE, said in previous statements that the UAE will support the Egyptian foreign exchange reserves at the CBE and assist with the bank’s efforts fighting the exchange of the dollar on the black market.
On Wednesday, the CBE announced that its Net International Reserves rose by about $450m in April, boosting to $17.011bn, compared to $16.561bn in March.
According to Amer, it was the CBE’s policies behind increasing the foreign reserves for the seventh month in a row.
Among those policies, Amer highlighted the decision to lift the cap on foreign currency deposits and withdrawal operations, as well as devaluating the pound by about 14%.
Amer noted that Egypt has not received any deposits from abroad since he took the helm of the CBE in November 2016.
