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Monday, March 11, 2013

Qatar says no more aid to Egypt for now

DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar does not expect to give further financial aid to Egypt in the immediate term, Qatari Finance Minister Youssef Kamal said on Monday.

"We already announced 3 billion pounds ($5 billion)," Kamal told Reuters, when asked how much aid Qatar had provided Egypt to date.

Qatar's Finance Minister Youssef Kamal arrives at the Gulf Arab Finance Ministers meeting in Riyadh May 5, 2012. REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed
Qatar's Finance Minister Youssef Kamal arrives at the Gulf Arab Finance Ministers meeting in Riyadh May 5, 2012. REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed

Asked whether Qatar expected to provide more, he replied: "Not yet." He did not elaborate.

Qatar has been a key source of foreign aid to Egypt since its 2011 revolution through soft loans and deposits in Cairo's central bank.

With Egypt's foreign reserves falling to critically low levels and a hoped-for $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund delayed by political unrest, there has been speculation that Cairo could turn to Qatar for yet more aid.

(Reporting by Regan Doherty; Editing by Andrew Torchia)

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