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M. Continuo

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.

    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)