US Development Grants to Egypt Plunged 95 pct in 2011

US development grants to Egypt plunged an annual 95 per cent to $15.5 million in 2011, data from state statistics agency CAPMAS showed. Egypt received $285.2 million in such grants from the United States in 2010, according to figures. Magda Kandil, executive director of the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES), said the plunge was a "normal reaction" in donor countries disturbed by Egypt's turbulent political transition. "It's not only America, donors are seeking stability and political assurances before they continue their previous levels of funding," Kandil said.

US development grants are separate from US A.I.D., which has been reduced after political disagreements between Cairo and Washington. Tensions between Egypt and US grew in late 2011 after five of non-governmental organisations ??(NGOs) were raided by officials from ?Egypt’s public prosecution office backed by police and military personnel. In May, US senators subtracted $5 million from aid provided to Egypt to reimburse the US Treasury for money it paid to bail out American pro-democracy activists facing charges in Cairo.

CAPMAS statistics also show a 23.2 per cent increase in imports to Egypt, from $33.14 billion in 2010 to $61.2 billion in 2011. Egypt's total exports, meanwhile, grew by 18 per cent, from $25.8 billion in 2010 to $30.4 billion last year. The value of Egyptian exports to the US dipped slightly to $1.5 billion in 2011 from $1.6 billion the year before.