Cairo — The European Union has approved a 5bn-euro ($6.4bn) financial support package for Egypt, Egyptian officials say.

The European Investment Bank will grant Egypt 2 billion euros and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development a further 2 billion euros, while EU countries will come up with 1 billion euros, the country's presidency said on Wednesday.

An EU official said the aid package's details will be announced later on Wednesday at a press conference.

The announcement came after President Mohamed Morsi met EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Cairo.

Ashton, who attended a meeting of EU and Arab foreign ministers on Tuesday, is also participating in the EU-Egypt task force which aims at bolstering economic relations between Egypt and Europe.

Representatives of around 100 large European companies and members of the European Commission and European MPs are participating in the meetings that wrap up later on Wednesday.

In a statement, the presidency said the packages was "a strong sign of the EU's support for Egypt's path to development."