(MENAFN) A senior European Union official estimated Egypt to need more than USD10 billion aid to help its economy recover, Reuters reported.
The official disclosed that the EU and other institutions and countries were considering how much aid to grant the cash-strapped country, in addition to the USD4.8 billion loan which Cairo has requested from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Egypt hopes to reach a deal with the IMF by the end of the year, officials in Cairo have said.
Mursi is set to make his first visit to Brussels since he became Egypt's first freely elected president in June, and will meet European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Herman van Rompuy, president of the council of EU governments.
The EU official said the talks between the two sides would be about economic support, job creation, agriculture, energy and European investment in Egypt.
Trade will be on the agenda but the European Union is not yet ready to open talks with Egypt on a free trade agreement, the official added.
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