Egypt signed an agreement with the US government Sunday under the terms of which it will receive a $190 million grant to back its state budget, reported Al-Ahram Arabic-language news site.
The grant is the first tranche of a US aid package to Egypt worth $1 billion announced by President Barack Obama in May 2011, according to Egyptian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ashraf El-Arabi.
El-Arabi said the agreement would be presented to the Egyptian Shura Council (the upper house of parliament) for ratification. The grant is expected to be received before the year’s end.