Egypt gets 2 bln USD from Turkey to boost economy

Egypt has gotten an aid package worth 2 billion U.S. dollars from Turkey to boost its economy, official news agency MENA reported Monday. The agreement on the aid was signed by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi during his recent visit to Turkey, according to MENA. The package includes investments worth 1 billion dollars in Egypt's infrastructure projects and a soft loan of 1 billion dollars with a 0.6-percent interest rate and a three-year grace period, MENA quoted Egyptian presidency spokesman Yasser Ali as saying. The Egyptian president also signed an investment agreement valued at 160 million dollars during his meeting with the Egyptian- Turkish Businessmen Council. Moreover, a memorandum of understanding signed in April between the two countries was activated and will allow the passage of Turkish trucks via the Egyptian territory to a third country. A another report said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a visit to Egypt in November to discuss means to strengthen the Egyptian-Turkish ties in various fields.