Arab aid to Egypt reaches $12 billion, after Kuwait pledges $4 billion

في الخميس ١١ - يوليو - ٢٠١٣ ١٢:٠٠ صباحاً

Thousands of anti-Morsy protesters flock to Tahrir Square demanding the president's overthrow, 3 July 2013.

 

KUWAIT- Kuwait will provide a $4 billion aid package to Egypt, including $2 billion as a central bank deposit, a $1 billion grant and $1 billion in oil products, state news agency KUNA said on Wednesday.

The announcement came after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pledged a combined $8 billion in financial aid to Egypt on Tuesday, showing their support for the Egyptian army's move to push the Muslim Brotherhood from power.

KUNA did not say when the aid is going to arrive.

The aid from the three Gulf Arab oil producers is expected to help Egypt avoid a balance of payments crisis and overcome fuel shortages that partly stoked public anger against ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsy.

It will also ease pressure on Cairo to conclude long-running talks with the International Monetary Fund on a $4.8 billion loan. However, a surging fiscal gap and political turmoil following Morsy's toppling last week will remain a pressing challenge for Egyptian authorities, analysts said.

Qatar lent Egypt more than $7 billion during Morsy's abruptly curtailed year in power, but other Gulf states remained aloof, wary of the Muslim Brotherhood's potential influence in their own conservative, dynastically ruled countries.

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