Egypt is in advanced talks with Saudi Arabia to secure a deposit of between $2-3 billion as part of the bilateral financing required to seal an International Monetary Fund loan package, the finance minister said in remarks carried by Al-Borsa newspaper on Thursday.
Al-Borsa quoted Amr El-Garhy as saying that negotiations with the Gulf kingdom about the deposit are due to be finalised "in the next few weeks."
In August Egypt reached a preliminary agreement with the IMF to secure a three-year $12 billion loan facility to support a government reform programme aimed at mending the country's ailing economy. The deal requires Cairo to secure a further $6 billion in bilateral financing.
"We are moving quite well to complete the remaining financing arrangements," the minister was quoted as saying.
Riyadh has been a key backer of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi since he came to office in 2014, and along with other Gulf countries has showering his government with billions of dollars in aid, investments and deposits.
