The USD 1 bn UAE deposit announced on Monday has apparently been with the Central Bank of Egypt since Sunday, government sources tell Al Shorouk. Another government source tells Youm7 that the deposit will carry a 2.5% interest rate and will be returned over the six years in three USD 333 mn tranches, with the first tranche due on 20 May 2019. The deposit will be used to shore up FX reserves and help with the financing gap, said Finance Minister Amr El Garhy in a statement on Tuesday, Al Shorouk reports.

And speaking of GCC assistance: Egypt can no longer take unconditional Gulf support for granted, analysts told Bloomberg. “Sisi’s popularity is declining, pretty dramatically, and the economy is showing no signs of improving, so the U.A.E. and Saudi are likely discussing whether Egypt is worth their investing … But, given Egypt’s importance, I don’t see the relationship ending any time soon,” Sarah Yerkes, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, said. LSE associate professor Steffen Hertog agrees, noting even though the relationship “has clearly cooled,” for GCC countries “ Egypt is too big to fail, however diminished its regional status.”