CAIRO: Egypt signed on Sunday an agreement with the government of the United States for a grant worth $ 190 million, according to the official page of Prime Minister Hisham Kandil. “The grant aims at supporting the national program for economic and financial reform,” said a statement on Kandil's page. During his visit to Egypt earlier in March, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the United States will provide Egypt with $ 190 million to support the government budget. According to Kerry, Washington is willing to provide Egypt with assistance as long as the Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi asserts his intention to finalize the deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Egypt says it wants to resume talks with the IMF on the $ 4.8 billion loan that had been primarily agreed upon last November, yet the agreement was frozen at Cairo's request in the wake of an unrest triggered by a decree issued by Morsi giving him sweeping powers and shielding his decisions from the judiciary. Sunday's agreement came within the U.S. aid package to Egypt. The U.S. is expected to provide more funds worth $ 260 million. BN
