Kuwait to transfer $2bn in aid to Egypt

Kuwaiti officials have informed their Egyptian counterparts that the oil-rich Gulf state was set to transfer $2 billion to Egypt as part of an aid package it had pledged earlier, a Finance Ministry source said Friday. "We're expecting $4 billion in Kuwaiti aid in two tranches," the official, who asked not to be named, told Anadolu Agency. Earlier this week, interim Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail said Egypt also expected a major oil shipment from Kuwait later this month. Ismail said Kuwait would send two million barrels of oil to Egypt in September as part of a grant pledged earlier. According to Ismail, Kuwait has already sent two million barrels of oil to Egypt since July. Following the July 3 ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates together pledged to provide Egypt with a total of $12 billion in assistance. The cash injections aim to increase Egypt's foreign currency reserves, which have been falling steadily as the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) uses them to shore up the local currency amid ongoing political turmoil sparked by Morsi's overthrow by the military. Earlier this month, the CBE said the country's reserves had jumped to $18.91 billion as of the end of August, compared to $18.88 billion at the end of the previous month. The central bank attributed the increase to cash injections by Gulf donor states.   On Thursday, Egypt's interim government said it expected to be able to bring the country's budget deficit down to 10 percent during the current fiscal year. Egypt's budget deficit has reached 220 billion pounds, or 14 percent of the national GDP, according to a government statement obtained by AA. In the statement, the government announced an economic growth target of 3.5 percent.