The UAE has transferred $3 billion in promised aid to Egypt and another $2 billion from Saudi Arabia will arrive shortly, Egypt’s central bank governor told. Gulf Arab oil producers have promised aid packages worth $12 billion to Egypt as the country has struggled to pay for imports since the 2011 uprising that pushed Hosni Mubarak out of the presidency drove away tourists and foreign investors, two of its main sources of foreign currency. Since then it has run through more than $20 billion in reserves, borrowed billions from abroad and delayed payments to oil firms.
Hisham Ramez also said promised fuel aid from the Gulf Arab oil producers would reduce pressure on Egypt’s foreign exchange reserves by up to $650 million a month. He said the planned aid would lift Egypt’s battered foreign exchange reserves to more than $20 billion after falling by around $1 billion to $14.92 billion in June. There was no date yet for the promised $4 billion in aid from Kuwait, he added.
