GCC expected to help prop up budget of new Egyptian president Sisi | The National

GCC expected to help prop up budget of new Egyptian president Sisi | The National:



"Egypt’s new president is expected to look to the Arabian Gulf to help plug a US$9 billion foreign-exchange funding gap for the next six months to help meet its urgent food and fuel needs.



As Abdel Fattah El Sisi swears in today, economists warn that without such aid the country’s economic condition may deteriorate further in the absence of receipts from tourism and foreign investment. Following years of economic growth averaging more than 7 per cent, the country’s GDP growth dipped to 2.2 per cent in 2012, according to the World Bank.



Egypt has been battered by more than three years of unrest after the deposal of the former president, Hosni Mubarak, in February 2011. Experts say that Gulf nations will continue to extend the Arab world’s most populous country a lifeline until public finances are shored up. Saudi Arabia’s king called for a donor’s conference last week to help the beleaguered country, and the UAE has been active in helping Egypt come up with a blueprint for recovery."



'via Blog this'