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Inside Energy

Qatar ready to invest US$10 billion in Egypt

HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani

Qatar is prepared to provide loans and participate in bond issues to support Egypt’s economy, HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani said yesterday.

In an interview with the Egyptian daily Al Akhbar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim reiterated that, in addition to the loans and bond issues, Qatar is ready to invest as much as $10bn in the Egyptian economy. “We are still committed to that,” he said.

Qatar, the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas producer, and a member of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), has already provided $500mn to Egypt, whose economy has suffered from an outflow of foreign investment and a collapse in tourism revenue in the months following the toppling of former president Hosni Mubarak in February.

“And there are other sums in the form of soft loans or bonds that are currently being arranged,” the prime minister added. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim denied suggestions that Qatar is seeking a political role in Egypt in exchange for the funding. “As a state, we don’t interfere in the internal affairs of any country. We don’t donate money unless it is through the official legal channel,” he said. However, the prime minister did not rule out the possibility that Qatari individuals, as well as Egyptian expatriates in Qatar, may be donating money to Egyptian political parties, charities, or individuals. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said GCC is not immune to the effects of the Arab Spring.

“I am part of the GCC, so my testimony would be somehow subjective, but I can’t rule out that the GCC countries are 100% immune,” he said. “However, the relation between the leadership at the top of the pyramid in the GCC and its base is more flexible and there is higher communication between both sides,” he said. “I do not think Qatar would change or retreat from its pledges, but is important that both sides agree on a clear vision for each of these projects, especially since the amount is huge and needs a number of areas to invest in it; therefore, the test now is how to invest that amount in the areas and projects that are agreed upon with the Egyptian side,” Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said.

He noted that negotiations on this issue have begun between the two sides and referred to the clear directives by HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani when he visited Egypt recently, where he stressed the need to speed up in this area and now the competent authorities in both countries are working to develop the final agreement in the light of the agreed vision. Referrinfg to relations between Qatar and the former regime in Egypt, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister said: “I would say frankly that Egypt for us is the largest Arab country and there is a saying by HH the Emir that “as long as Egypt is strong, Qatar and the Arab world are fine and strong”

He said: “It is not our habit to talk about the past or a particular person... This is a finished topic for us, but we have always been striving to have good ties with Egypt.” Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said: “I can confirm that there was no personal differences with the former regime in Egypt, but the differences were on the policies that would not serve Egypt and the Arab world.” He said “we missed the Egyptian role in many of the issues including negotiations with Israel... During the former regime, Egypt had taken position that sometimes we did not agree with and we did not wish for Egypt and the Arab world.”

But he said “there is now a significant change in the relations between the two countries after the revolution of January 25… we all note the change in Egypt and we have to give it a chance to stand again and end all the previous problems.”

The prime minister denied Qatar had any favourite candidate to take over as president of Egypt. “The issue is for the Egyptian people and Qatar would not intervene in this matter.”