STORY: Egypt receives 14 bln USD from UAE as 2nd payment of investment deal: cabinet
SHOOTING TIME: file
DATELINE: May 16, 2024
LENGTH: 00:00:45
LOCATION: Cairo
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the cabinet headquarters
2. various of Egyptian PM speaking
3. various of U.S. dollars

STORYLINE:

Egypt has received 14 billion U.S. dollars from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the second payment of a 35-billion-dollar investment deal signed in February to develop Ras Al-Hekma, a new resort city on Egypt's northern coast, the Egyptian cabinet said Wednesday.
   
During a cabinet meeting, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly confirmed the receipt of the payment, which he said would "contribute to pumping more dollar resources," according to a statement released by the cabinet.
   
In early March, Egypt announced the receipt of 15 billion U.S. dollars from the UAE as the first tranche of the 35-billion-dollar deal. The sum included 5 billion received in late February, another 5 billion received in early March, and a third 5 billion from the UAE's 11-billion-dollar deposit at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
   
Madbouly said Wednesday that the Egyptian government had also started working with the UAE to waive the remaining 6-billion-dollar Emirati deposit at the CBE.
   
The deal was signed at a time when Egypt faced a shortage of foreign currency needed for imports, which led to the devaluation of the local currency, the rise of a parallel market, and high inflation rates in the most populous Arab country.
   
The crisis deepened after the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in October last year, which affected Egypt's tourism industry and halved its revenues from the Suez Canal.
   
After it signed the Ras Al-Hekma deal, Egypt has seen a large influx of foreign cash.
   
In late March, the World Bank announced its intention to provide more than 6 billion dollars "to support Egypt's development and reform efforts," while the European Union announced it would provide a financial package of 7.4 billion euros (8.04 billion U.S. dollars) to bolster the Egyptian economy.
   
Also in March, the International Monetary Fund approved an additional 5-billion-dollar funding for Egypt besides the 3-billion-dollar, 46-month funding approved in late 2022 to support the country's reforms.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Cairo.
(XHTV)