Minister: Egypt can do without US aid

Egypt, which gets $250 million in US economic aid, can get along without it, Planning and International Cooperation Minister Fayza Abouelnaga said. The United States ranks at the bottom of countries giving grants or loans to Egypt, she said. Abouelnaga said the current amount of US economic aid is negligible compared to Egypt's gross domestic product, The Middle East News Agency reported. The report said the minister did not include the $1.3 billion Egypt gets in military aid from the United States annually. Abouelnaga told the People's Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee former U.S. President George W. Bush reduced economic assistance to Egypt to $200 million, which was raised to $250 million by President Barack Obama.