Kuwaiti court considers urgent motion to end financial support for Egypt

Kuwait’s Administrative Court is considering an urgent motion demanding that it blocks a decision by the government to grant Egypt $5 billion in aid. Describing the decision by the Cabinet as “a serious waste of public money which violates the Constitution and the law”, the motion before the court claims that the Kuwaiti Constitution also “forbids granting other states non-refundable funds”.

The motion argues that the Constitution addresses the need to help other countries through controlled mechanisms including loans or investment. “The constitution includes many laws in this regards, most notably Law No. 25 of 1974 on the organisation of the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development,” says the claim before the court. “The State legislation does not mandate Kuwait to provide non-refundable financial grants. The motion aims to invalidate the Cabinet’s decision in order to promote the public interest over illegal spending.”

Following the military coup in Egypt on July 3, Kuwait announced that it will provide the interim government in Cairo with aid worth $4 billion made up as a deposit of $2 billion in the Egypt Central Bank, $1 billion as a non- refundable grant as well as oil and oil derivatives worth a further billion dollars. An additional $1 billion was granted to Egypt later on.