Western nations and international organizations are coming to the aid of Egypt, the West's key political partner in the Arab world, whose main source of hard currency, tourism, has been hit hard by the attacks of Sept. 11.
The US announced Thursday that it would accelerate US$959 million of financial assistance to Egypt, which the White House has declared a "key partner" in its war on terrorism and in the Middle East peace process.
Washington also pledged in November to help Egypt overcome the cost of the attacks to its economy and support efforts to stimulate private sector growth and job creation.
US civilian and military aid to Egypt totals about US$2 billion a year, the highest amount given to any country other than Israel.
Egypt has experienced an economic slowdown for more than two years, in particular a shortage of liquidity which has led to the government devaluing the pound three times in the last year.
Despite an upturn around the New Year, Egyptian tourism has suffered losses of some US$3 billion since the Sept. 11 attacks in the US, the minister of tourism, Mamduh al-Beltagui, said recently.
Comparatively, the sector had record receipts of US$4.3 billion in 2000.
European Commission president Romano Prodi said in mid-November in Cairo that Europe intended to help Egypt overcome the aftershocks of the attacks, but without specifying how.
Several European countries, including France, intend to give additional economic assistance to Egypt, sources have said.
Western countries have long recognized the political importance of Egypt in the Middle East, and affirmed their need to continue aid to a stable regime, which a serious economic crises could destabilize.
The Egyptian government and the World Bank will organize a donors' conference at the beginning of February at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, with the goal of assembling some US$2.5 billion in grants and loans to Egypt.
Arab and African institutions are also mobilizing to come to the aid of the Egyptian economy.
The Abidjan-based African Development Bank on Thursday set aside for Egypt a US$1.6 billion line of credit over three years. The Arab Monetary Fund, for its part, at the end of December agreed to loan Egypt around US$152.5 million .
At the national level, President Hosni Mubarak called in November for Egyptians to consume local products instead of imports, and conducted a cabinet reshuffle which eliminated the ministry of the economy and gave greater autonomy to the Central Bank with the avowed goal of increasing exports.
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