USAID ready to raise economic aid to Egypt to $300m

The US Agency for International Development is ready to raise its economic assistance to Egypt from dlrs 250 million to dlrs 300 million provided the Congress approves such an increase, USAID Cairo Mission Director Mary Otto said. Speaking on the sidelines of the 3rd Euro-Med Finance conference here Monday night, she said USAID fully backs to the private sector in Egypt and the Middle East by extending financial and technical support to all the sector's institutions. USAID is formulating programs to eliminate the high poverty rates in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East by establishing funds for companies to raise their capital and create jobs, she said. It also provides incentives to small and medium sized companies, she added. Egypt's main problem is financing projects, with only 30 percent of the finance going to the small and medium sized companies, as most these companies are self-financed by their owners, she said.