The World Bank has pledged $6bn in loans for Egypt and Tunisia.

世界银行承诺向埃及和突尼斯提供60亿美元贷款。

Egypt, which will receive $4.5bn over two years, is also speaking to the International Monetary¹ Fund (IMF).

Meanwhile, Qatar has offered to make up to $10bn in investments in Egypt.

It comes after the European Bank for Reconstruction² and Development - set up to aid post-Communist Eastern Europe - said at the weekend it would start lending to emerging Arab democracies.

Egypt and Morocco had already applied³ to the EBRD for financial assistance.

But while the lender said it hoped eventually to provide up to 2.5bn euros ($3.5bn) a year to the region, any such wholesale⁴（大规模的） geographic⁵ reorientation（再定位） of its mandate⁶（授权，命令） would need the approval of all of its 63 members.

Funding gap

Like the EBRD, the World Bank explicitly⁷ stated its desire to support the Arab Spring of democratic revolutions.

"Our support, and that of others, can sustain momentum⁸ and accelerate progress, but only if coupled with real reform," said Robert Zoellick, World Bank president.

The World Bank money will be made conditional⁹ on the countries' progress in modernising their economies.

Tunisia - which was the first country to oust¹⁰ its former dictator - will receive $1.5bn from the international lender, of which $500m is part of a previously-announced $1.2bn package put together with the African Development Bank and European donors¹¹.

Two tranches（部分） of $1bn, to be provided directly to the Egyptian government this year and next, would be linked to "governance and openness reforms".

The other money would be provided in other formats¹², such as guarantees, private business loans and infrastructure¹³ financing.

Egypt's financing needs are daunting¹⁴, thanks to a collapse¹⁵ in the economy - notably¹⁶ the tourism industry - triggered by the recent political turmoil¹⁷（混乱，骚动） .

Elevated demands of the people after the revolution were adding to pressure on the budget, Finance Minister Samir Radwan told the BBC earlier this month.

The country expects to run a deficit¹⁸ of 9-10% of economic output in the coming year and faces a financing gap of $10bn-12bn, which it has already formally applied to the IMF to help plug.