Kuwait Fund to Bankroll Development Projects in Egypt

Arab and foreign development foundations support all steps taken by the Egyptian government at the economic level. The Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development is one such foundations, said International Cooperation Minister Ashraf el-Arabi in statements to Kuwait's "Al-Anbaa" newspaper on 19/01/2013. Egypt is in need of $14.5 billion in soft foreign loans until the end of June 2013, Arabi said. Of that only 4.5 billion has been secured through an in-principle agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Egyptian government has always maintained good ties with Arab funds, Arabi said, believing this is beneficial for both sides.

Arabi said cooperation with the Kuwaiti fund amounted to a total of 2.2 billion dollars between 1964 and 2012. Egypt has since received 35 loans from Kuwait, Arabi noted. He mad reference to a proposed cooperation program between 2013 and 2016 states that Kuwait provides Egypt with an annual 200 million dollars to be used in bankrolling development projects in the sector of electricity and energy and in upgrading railways and expanding natural gas networks.