Egypt following up aid pledges with Gulf countries - minister

The Egyptian government is in contact with Gulf countries that had pledged financial aid to the country in the transitional period following the ouster of President Mohammad Morsi. "The Finance Ministry has intensified its contacts (with Gulf states) to stand on the volume of financial aid announced," caretaker Finance Minister Fayyad Abdel Moneim told the Anadolu Agency in a phone interview Saturday. Abdel Moneim spoke of contacts with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait for urgent aid. Saudi Arabia has already announced $8 billion, including $1 billion in non-refundable grant, he said. Egypt is in need of urgent financial aid to face a liquidity shortage of foreign currencies, a major budget deficit, depreciation of the Egyptian pound and a sharp rise in inflation. Analysts said the country needs some $19.5 billion until June 2014 to cover debts and a $5.4 billion trade deficit. Defense Minister Abdel Fatah al-Sisi phoned Saudi Kind Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz and UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nuhayyan yesterday on the latest developments in Egypt. King Abdullah was the first Arab and foreign leader to congratulate interim president Adly Mansour after his swearing-in ceremony. Egypt's relations with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE took a downturn under Morsi.