UAE expected to invest $3B in Egypt

The UAE is expected to implement projects worth $3 billion worth in Egypt in order to boost the Egyptian economy, according to Daily Al Bayan newspaper. The projects are expected to be carried out in schools, hospitals, factories, wheat silos and housing units for youth, water and sewage stations, in addition to training programs aimed at raising labor market qualifications. The unemployment rate in Egypt has reached 13.4 percent, and is “the largest problem in Egypt’s economy,” Egyptian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ashraf el-Araby said on the Hona al-Asema program on CBC April 27. The UAE aids and grants to Egypt amount to $7 billion, and a number of them have been fulfilled, the head of projects of the Chamber monitoring UAE grants to Egypt, Mossad Ghanem told Daily Al Bayan newspaper Monday. “The total number of these projects has reached about 14, that has been put into force currently,” Ghanem said. He added there are talks to expand solar energy projects, noting projects in Marsa Matrouh and Siwa have been completed with Emirati grants. The UAE offered financial and tangible aid to Egypt valued at $3 billion following the July 2013 ouster of Mohamed Morsi. In October 2013, the UAE resumed aid to Egypt by signing a $4.9 billion agreement; including a $1 billion grant and $1 billion in oil freights. The remaining amount will be allocated to developmental projects, according to the State Information Service website. Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud called for a donor conference to help boost the Egyptian economy in a congratulatory cable to president-elect Abdel Fatah al-Sisi following the conclusion of the election. “I call upon all of Egypt’s brothers and friends to organize a donor conference to assist that country to overcome its economic crisis,” Abdullah said in a cable sent to Sisi Tuesday, published by Saudi state news agency SPA. The UAE has welcomed such initiative, according to WAM news agency. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi said that the UAE will contribute with “honest will” in efforts that will allow Egypt confront different challenges.