Egypt has entered into negotiations with the Arab Monetary Fund over a $465 million loan, Finance Minister El-Morsi El-Hegazy announced on Tuesday.

El-Hegazy made the statements in Dubai, where he heads an Egyptian delegation attending the annual meeting of the Arab Financial Institutions and the fourth meeting of the Council of Arab Ministers, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Egyptian Central Bank Governor Hisham Ramez, who is also attending, told the press that the country's foreign currency reserves had dipped further from the $13.5 million at which they stood at the end of February.

The most populous Arab nation's foreign currency reserves, which have been hemorrhaging since the January 2011 uprising, were said in February to barely cover three months of vital fuel and food imports.

Egyptian Planning Minister Ashraf El-Araby stated from Dubai that the government aimed to up reserves to $16 billion by the end of the current fiscal year in June, significantly lower than a previously announced target of $19 billion, according to Reuters.

Egypt has already received $270 million from the Arab Monetary Fund, which will also soon provide a second tranche of aid worth $135 million, according to a statement released by the finance ministry on Monday.