Cairo, May 22 (IANS) Saudi Arabia has pledged to provide Egypt with $4 billion to support the north African country's economic recovery, the ruling military council said.

Hussein Tantawi, chief of the military council, expressed Egypt's appreciation for Saudi Arabia's support, saying the aid will be in the form of soft loans and credit lines, Xinhua reported citing the official MENA news agency.

"This step will deepen the historic relations and cooperation between the two countries," Tantawi said.

Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, meanwhile, has welcomed the decision by US President Barack Obama to relieve up to $1 billion debt and guarantee another $1 billion loan for Egypt.

Egypt's economy deteriorated after the political turmoil broke out in late January which forced former president Hosni Mubarak to step down.

Finance Minister Samir Radwan has said Egypt would soon finalise measures for receiving loan worth $2.2 billion from the World Bank.

Egypt also made an official request for a $10-12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to support the country's economic recovery.