EGYPT TO RETURN $1BLN TO QATAR IN OCTOBER

Cairo, 24 Rabiul Akhir 1436/14 February 2015 (MINA) – Egypt will return a $1 billion deposit to Qatar in October, the last of the Qatari deposits at the central bank, the bank’s governor Hisham Ramez said on Thursday according to state-owned news agency MENA

By November of last year, Egypt had paid back a total of $6 billion to Qatar. The Gulf state had given Egypt $7.5 billion in loans and grants during the presidency of Mohamed Morsi, but relations between the two countries soured due to Doha’s opposition to Morsi’s ouster in 2013, according to Ahramonline report quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait have backed the new authorities, giving Egypt with over $20 billion in aid since then.

The move comes despite the recent thaw in tensions between Egypt and Qatar.

In January, Qatar’s emir, Tamim Al-Thani, accepted a formal invitation to attend a much publicised economic development conference to be held in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh in mid-March to attract investors.

As of the end of January, Egypt’s net international reserves stood at $15.4 billion.(T/R04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)