Egypt said Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman will visit Cairo within days as the two governments prepare to discuss aid and major investments to support an Egyptian economy struggling amid a dollar crunch hurting business activity. Egyptian officials will present to Saudi Arabia "major" investment opportunities in areas including housing, education and energy, the cabinet said in a statement. A government official earlier said Egypt also plans to seek oil and non-oil products, development aid, as well as foreign-exchange deposits at the central bank to bolster its foreign reserves, down 50 percent since the 2011 uprising against President Hosni Mubarak. Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismail will lead the talks along with Prince Mohammed, the cabinet said. The dollar squeeze has fueled speculation that authorities would be forced to devalue the pound. Egypt will also ask Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates for investments and aid, the government official had said, requesting anonymity to discuss the plan. The talks signal that Egypt's Gulf Arab allies remain committed to support it even as the plunge in oil prices and the war in Yemen strain their public finances. The three monarchies have provided billions of dollars to support the Egyptian economy since the 2013 army-led ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi after mass protests against his one-year rule.
