The Egyptian prime minister's media advisor Ahmed al-Samman said that the cabinet decided to increase commodity support during the year 2011/2012 to LE115 billion. Samman said, in a statement reported by Egyptian State TV, that the support is the largest of its kind in Egypt's history. He said that the government is leaning towards creating a special fund where all economic aids will be put. He added that the US$1 billion allocated by US would not be included in the budget this year, because congress must consent to the president's plan before Egypt receives the funds. He expected Egypt to receive the funds after January 1, 2012, and said that US aid would be included in 2012/2013 budget. According to state-run daily Al-Ahram, Samman said that the Saudi aid includes US$500 million in direct grants, while the rest would be provided in the form of trade transactions, Saudi imports, treasury bonds purchases, and Saudi-Egyptian joint ventures in Egypt. In regards to recovering money smuggled abroad, Samman said that all the money would be returned through legal procedures. Translated from the Arabic Edition
