The United Arab Emirates has pledged $4 billion to Egypt, with half to be allocated for development and half deposited in the country’s central bank to shore up its foreign-currency reserves its official news agency WAM said.
WAM reported Friday that Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan had ordered two billion dollars of investment in Egypt, and will deposit two billion dollars in the Egyptian central bank to increase its foreign reserves.
Tarek Fayed, deputy governor at Egypt’s central bank, said the deposit should be received “in the coming week” and that it would also support the bank’s efforts to tackle currency speculation on the black market, Egypt’s state-run MENA news agency reported.
The announcement comes a day after Abu Dhabi’s crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Egypt.
The UAE has been one of the main backers of Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi after he led the overthrow of the country’s Islamist president in 2013.
Egypt’s economy is suffering following a slump in its vital tourism sector and a devaluation of its currency, and the government faces growing international criticism over its poor human rights record.
The U.A.E. funding also comes as Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi faces growing dissatisfaction over his economic policies, three years after he led the widely-sought ouster of predecessor Mohamed Mursi and the subsequent crackdown on his Islamist allies.
Thousands took to the streets last week to protest his decision to return two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia in the harshest popular outpouring against him to date.
