Saudi Arabia on Thursday signed a series of deals with Cairo aimed at helping stabilizing Egypt’s struggling economy days after the worst diplomatic tiff between the two was healed.
A statement Thursday from the Saudi ambassador to Egypt said the kingdom has agreed to provide $500 million in aid to Egypt and will deposit an additional $1 billion at the country’s central bank.
Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation, Fayza Aboul-Naga, said the deposit is for eight years and is part of Riyadh’s previous commitment to Egypt.
Ambassador Ahmad Abdul-Aziz Kattan also said Saudi will meet Cairo’s request to export $250 million worth of butane gas to Egypt, which has faced ongoing shortages of the cooking fuel.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt have just patched up one of the worst rifts in years of strategic relations. Riyadh decided late last month to shut down its diplomatic missions and recall its ambassador over rowdy protests by Egyptians who objected to the kingdom’s treatment of an Egyptian human rights lawyer arrested in Saudi.
Egypt secures financial aid from Saudi Arabia
