Nearly one year after popular protests ousted Egypt's long-serving President Hosni Mubarak, the government is now seeking foreign funds to jumpstart its economy battered by protracted political turmoil, a high fiscal deficit, a rising unemployment rate and faltering growth momentum.

Fayza Mohamed Abu el-Naga, Egypt's international cooperation minister, said Sunday the country was seeking loans of 4.9 billion U.S. dollars from the international community to help its economy.

The government hoped it could get 3.4 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), 1 billion from the World Bank and 500 million from the African Development Bank.

The Egyptian economy got into difficulties with large budget deficits, stagnant economic growth and a rising jobless rate, both as a result of the long-running political turmoil in the country and the adverse impact of the global financial crisis.

Tourism revenues, one crucial pillar of the country's economy, plunged to 8.8 billion U.S. dollars last year, down 30 percent from the year before.

The economy grew at a meager pace of 0.4 and 0.3 percent respectively for the second and third quarter last year, after it contracted by 4.3 percent. Analysts forecast the economy barely grew in the last quarter of 2011.

Meanwhile, the budget deficit for the first half of 2012 would reach 134 billion Egyptian pounds (about 22.2 billion U.S. dollars), or 8.6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to government's prediction.

Foreign exchange reserves also shrunk last year to 18.1 billion U.S. dollars, due to drops in tourism revenues and foreign investment.

The government has said repeatedly that economic conditions were still under control, but many local and foreign economists were pointing to increasing signs of concern.

The IMF offered Egypt a financial aid package of 30 billion dollars in the middle of 2011 to help the country get over its economic difficulties, but the government did not take it, saying it would be unable to repay the massive loans.

Experts said even if the Egyptian government and the IMF could reach a deal on a new loan package quickly, it would take some time for the Egyptian economy to bounce back.

Many believe before foreign investors and tourists come back to Egypt, the country needs to show the world there has been a remarkable improvement in political and social stability. Until then, a strong and sustained economic recovery is just a distant hope.