KSA pledges SR30bn Egypt aid

JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has ordered that Saudi Arabia’s aid and investment package to Egypt should be increased to SR30 billion in the next five years.
The announcement was made by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail in Cairo on Tuesday, said SPA.
Prince Mohammed said at the start of the meeting that King Salman ordered the increase in the package — to contribute to Egypt’s oil needs for five years and for an increase in traffic for Saudi ships in the Suez Canal.
According to a report in Bloomberg quoting Egyptian Investment Minister Ashraf Salman on Wednesday, the investment of SR30 billion would be through Saudi Arabia’s public and sovereign funds, with inflows beginning immediately. Egypt is also set to renew a deal to import Saudi oil products for five years on favorable terms, Ismail said.
Saudi support comes as Egypt is trying to overcome a foreign currency shortage that is threatening to derail a nascent recovery. Egypt’s currency crisis caused business activity to contract the most in more than two years in November, said the report.
A new aid package would provide dollars needed to import capital goods and raw materials, and help authorities avoid an uncontrolled currency devaluation, said the report.