Saudi orders $5bn aid to Egypt

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that it would give Egypt $5 billion (3.9 billion euro) in assistance for its economy, six days after the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. The aid, which was decided by King Abdullah, will be made up of a $2 billion interest-free deposit in Egypt's central bank, a $1 billion donation and the equivalent of $2 billion in oil and gas products. This brings the total aid promised to Egypt by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday to $8 billion. Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said that the aid from Riyadh was intended to "support the Egyptian economy faced with the challenges which the country is going through". Since the ouster of veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak in early 2011, the country has been faced with economic strife and political instability. Saudi Arabia welcomed Morsi's ouster last week, and King Abdullah was the first foreign head of state to congratulate Egypt's interim president Adly Mansour hours after his appointment. The UAE, another oil-rich Gulf monarchy, said on Tuesday that it would give $3 billion in aid to Egypt, made up of a $1 billion donation and an interest-free $2 billion deposit in the central bank. While Morsi in power, another Gulf state, Qatar, which is seen as close to his Muslim Brotherhood, announced it was providing Egypt with $8 billion in assistance. That consisted of $4 billion in deposits in the central bank, $3 billion in bonds and $1 billion in straight aid.