Egypt's foreign currency reserves dropped 7.7 percent to US$18.534 billion at the end of July from US$20.080 billion the previous month, the central bank announced Wednesday. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have provided billions of dollars in aid since the Egyptian army overthrew elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in mid-2013 following mass protests against his rule. Reserves stood at about US$36 billion before the 2011 revolt that ousted Hosni Mobarak. In July, Egypt paid back US$700 million of debt to the Paris Club of creditor countries, further reducing debts exacerbated by years of political turmoil. Egypt's external debt declined to reach US$39.85 billion, or 12.5 percent of GDP, by the end of March marking a 13.5% decrease, partly as a result of the repayment of $3.5 billion of loans and credit facilitations.
