Feb 17, 2015

CAIRO — The Egypt the Future: Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC), upon which the administration in Cairo is relying to boost the economy in the medium term, is drawing near amid government concerns about a possible unsatisfactory outcome. In a Feb. 5 statement, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb expressed confidence that the conference, scheduled for March 13-15 in Sharm el-Sheikh, will succeed, that it will attract international support and that multinational companies will invest in seven projects that the state will propose at the gathering. Several factors, including fluctuations in Egyptian-Gulf ties — which have been a source of political and economical support for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi from the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood regime to his running for president — might threaten the conference's success.

The talk in political circles and the media is that with the death of King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia will change its policies toward the Sisi administration. In particular, it is suspected that for Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, the drop in oil prices and their negative and rapid repercussions on general budgets will lead to reduced financial assistance for Egypt.

Mehleb paid visits to the Gulf, starting with Kuwait on Feb. 2 and later the UAE on Feb. 11. The EEDC conference and future economic and financial support topped the agenda. Signs indicate that the generous support that Egypt has been receiving from the Gulf may not last much longer.

After the overthrow of the Mohammed Morsi government in July 2013, Egypt received $10.6 billion from the Gulf states in fiscal year 2013-14, deposited into non-interest bearing accounts, to support the country’s foreign exchange reserves in addition to oil aid.

A senior economic official in the Egyptian government speaking on condition of anonymity told Al-Monitor, “We have requested additional and direct financial support to be deposited in the state treasury, and we have received reassuring promises.” He would not, however, disclose the nature of the expected support. Meanwhile, Abdul Karim Suleiman, Egypt’s ambassador to Kuwait, said during Mehleb’s visit to Kuwait that he had “no information on any new Kuwaiti aid to Egypt.”