Det betrængte ny-demokratiske Egypten får nu en hjælpende hånd fra de rigeste af de rige – sauderne
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has pledged to provide Egypt with four billion US dollar (ca. 20 milliarder DKR) to support its economic recovery, the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces said Saturday.
Chief of Egypts military council Hussein Tantawi expressed his appreciation for Saudi Arabia’s support.
The sum includes 500 million dollar in budget support and 500 million of soft credit (attraktive lån). Saudi Arabia will buy Egyptian bonds for 500 million dollar and offer 500 million in soft loans from the Saudi Development Fund aimed specifically at development projects.
Another 1 billion would be deposited with the Central Bank of Egypt according to Saudi sources. In addition, the kingdom would extend a 750 million dollar credit line to fund Saudi exports to Egypt.
Meanwhile, the number of tourists visiting Egypt slumped 46 percent in the first quarter of this year, the government’s statistics agency said on Sunday. Foreign reserves fell to 28 billion dollar in April, the lowest in four years.
“The tourism industry is still affected by the recent events in Egypt causing a great decline in the number of tourists, which reached 1,9 million”, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said.
In related news, Tunisia will seek international support next week to set up a 25 billion dollar fund aimed at rekindling the North African country’s economy and consolidating democratic hopes born out of uprisings in January.
Authorities will outline the plan to attract 5 billion a year in foreign aid, loans and private investments over five years in meetings with leaders of the G8, who are gathering for a summit in France next week, Tunisia’s finance minister, Jelloul Ayed, said.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
