As the Egyptian Parliament bickers about the IMF proposed loan to Egypt due to concerns about the “strings attached” and presidential candidates promise more spending and no new revenues, Saudi Arabia is keeping a $3 billion promised yet undelivered aid pending on the presidential elections result. Below is an excerpt from Jane Kinninmont paper:
Earlier this month Saudi Arabia deposited US$1bn with Egypt's central bank, to help shore up foreign exchange reserves, which have suffered from the downturn in tourism and inward investment. But this was over a year after the Saudi government first promised the money, and it came only after a delegation of Islamist politicians visited Riyadh to soothe Saudi concerns over street protests outside its embassy in Cairo (which were a response to Saudi Arabia's detention of an Egyptian human-rights lawyer). Saudi Arabia originally promised $4bn in aid to Egypt, but there is as yet no timescale for the delivery of the remaining US$3bn.
It is likely Riyadh will wait and see who the new president is before it makes further financial commitments. Given Saudi Arabia's close relations with former president Hosni Mubarak, its clear displeasure at the revolution, and its anxiety about the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood both regionally and in its own country, it is likely to favour a candidate with links to the previous regime, such as Amr Moussa or Ahmed Shafiq.
