Saudi Arabia deposits $5 billion in Egypt’s central bank

Saudi Arabia has deposited $5 billion in Egypt’s central bank, the Saudi state news agency reported on Wednesday, as the Egyptian economy faces new economic pressures as a result of the war in Ukraine.

On March 21 Egypt devalued its currency by around 14 per cent after investors had pulled billions of dollars out of Egyptian treasury markets.

Last week the government announced it was in talks with the International Monetary Fund for potential funds and technical support to hedge against the effects of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on its economy.

Funding from additional donors is often a condition for finance from the IMF.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to implement the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Highness the Crown Prince, deposited five billion dollars with the Central Bank of Egypt,” the report from Saudi state news agency SPA said.

Saudi Arabia said in October it had deposited $3 billion with Egypt’s central bank and extended the term of another $2.3 bln in previous deposits. The new deposit would bring the total to $10.3 billion.

Egypt and Qatar have agreed to sign investment deals worth $5 billion, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement on Tuesday.