Egypt gets $12bn in aid pledges in 3 days

Egypt has received pledges of $12 billion in aid in a matter of only three days and from just three countries, the biggest foreign aid in its history. Kuwait decided to offer Egypt urgent aid to the value of $4 billion, the Kuwaiti news agency reported Wednesday. The package includes a grant of 1$ billion, deposits of 2$ billion with the Egyptian Central Bank and $1 billion worth of oil. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will offer Egypt a grant of $1 billion and will deposit with the Central Bank $2 billion interest-free, the Egyptian Presidency announced Tuesday. Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf also announced that the kingdom will give Egypt $ 5 billion in aid, including 1 billion as grant, $2 billion in deposits in the Central Bank and $2 billion in oil products and natural gas. The cash pledges, $9 billion, will increase Egypt’s foreign currency reserve to $23.9 billion. The Central Bank put the value of foreign currency reserve by the end of June at $14.9 billion. The aid packages came a week after the army ousted elected President Mohammad Morsi, suspended the constitution and named the head of the constitutional court as interim president. Egypt’s relations with oil-rich Saudi Arabia and the UAE had strained under Morsi.