Qatar and Libya will provide crisis-ridden Egypt with an additional $5bn of financial assistance. This will help keep Egypt afloat whilst it continues to negotiate an IMF package – the size of which may be increased from the long-mooted $4.8bn. The announcement that Qatar is to purchase $3bn of Egyptian government bonds came as Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil visited Qatar. This comes on top of $5bn of assistance Qatar has already given Egypt since the February 2011 Revolution.
Meanwhile, Libya has agreed to supply Egypt with a $2bn five-year interest-free loan, said Egyptian state media. Qatar strongly supported the 2011 ‘Arab Spring’ Revolutions, including that in Egypt, and stepped up this support following 2012’s election of Muslim Brotherhood-backed President Muhammad Mursi. This strong support has earned Qatar the enmity and suspicion of Egyptian liberals and secularists. Qatari Prime Minister Shaikh Hamad bin Jasim Al Thani, speaking at a press conference following the 10 April meeting with Mr Qandil, said that Qatar was not seeking anything in return for the aid. (CONTINUED - 511 WORDS)
