JEDDAH – Saudi Arabia has so far disbursed about a fifth of the much-needed aid to Arab countries since uprisings erupted in the region last year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which cited data from Riyadh's finance ministry. Riyadh pledged a total of $17.9 billion in loans, grants and other support between the start of 2011 and June 1 this year, to be disbursed over several years. It disbursed $3.7 billion of that amount during the period, the IMF said in a report on the Saudi Arabian economy, released this week after regular consultations with the Saudi government. “Regional support has come both in the form of substantial new pledges of financial assistance and indirectly, as fiscal expansion in Saudi Arabia creates increased demand for imports and also raises remittances from foreign labor employed in the Kingdom,” the IMF said. Egypt has received $1.5 billion of the $4.0 billion it was promised by Saudi Arabia, while Jordan has received $1.4 billion of $2.7 billion, according to the IMF data. The IMF figures may not include some aid disbursed after June 1. Saudi Arabia has given $350 million of $3.6 billion that it pledged to Yemen, the data showed; but Yemeni officials said this month that Riyadh had provided their country with over $2.2 billion of oil and fuel products this year plus a $1 billion loan to Yemen's central bank. Morocco and Tunisia are still waiting for the $1.25 billion and $750 million respectively which they were promised, the IMF data showed. Early last year Bahrain and Oman were promised a total of $5 billion by Saudi Arabia, part of a $20 billion pledge by Gulf Arab states to help the two countries. Saudi arabia has also promised $15 billion of additional resources to the IMF. – SG/Agencies
