5bn-euro EU aid package boosts Egypt

The European Union has approved a 5.0 billion euro financial aid package to Egypt after its economy was battered by a 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, the presidency said yesterday. The European Investment Bank will grant Egypt 2.0 billion euros and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development a further 2.0 billion euros, while EU countries will come up with 1.0 billion euros, the presidency said. For his part, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter that 600 million euros would go to Cairo’s underground train system. The presidency’s announcement came after President Muhammad Mursi met with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Cairo. It is “a strong sign of the EU’s support for Egypt’s path to development,” the presidency said in a statement. Ashton, who attended a meeting of EU and Arab foreign ministers on Tuesday, is also participating in the EU-Egypt task force which aims at bolstering economic relations between Egypt and Europe. Representatives of around 100 large European companies and members of the European Commission and European MPs are participating in the meetings, which wrapped up later yesterday. From : Arabnews