Egypt’s finance minister, who has been negotiating with Gulf Arab states for financial assistance, said Sunday that Qatar had given a grant of $500 million to support the budget which has ballooned as a result of political turmoil.
Hazem al-Beblawi said last week he was negotiating with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for funds worth close to $7 billion. He also said he was considering International Monetary Fund financing that Egypt previously turned down.
Egypt’s economy, which had been growing robustly before the popular uprising earlier this year, was hit hard by the protests, which prompted foreign investors to withdraw funds and saw major revenue sources like tourism suffer.
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