(MENAFN) Egypt has received Qatar's first USD500 million deposit, as the cash-strapped country struggles to secure international finance to stave off a post-uprising financial crisis, state news agency (MENA) reported.
Finance Minister Mumtaz El-Saeed was cited as saying it was the first tranche of USD2 billion the Gulf emirate's commitment, expecting the remaining cash to be delivered to the central bank next month.
Egypt's foreign reserves were fast depleting since the popular uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, forcing the central bank to sell dollars to prop up the country's pound.
Furthermore, the economy is facing a balance of payments crisis and is being further undermined by high state borrowing costs.
Recently, Egypt formally asked for USD4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help it shore up its balance of payments and to help plug a budget deficit expected to reach 7.9 percent of gross domestic product.
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