Central Bank of Egypt: Egypt to pay $1.72 billion to Qatar and the Paris Club within days

An official source at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) revealed on Thursday that the country will repay $1.72 billion bonds owed to Qatar and will also pay an instalment of a debt in the next few days.

Egypt’s state-run news agency MENA quoted the source as saying that $1 billion will be paid to Qatar National Bank, while the Paris Club will be paid $720 million.

Egypt received $1 billion dollars in 2012 from the Qatar National Bank against bonds with the same value issued by Egypt, which the bank has covered. After Egypt has paid an instalment of its debt to the Paris Club, the overall debt will be reduced to around $2.75 billion compared to $3.5 billion at present.

The source added that Egypt is committed to paying all its foreign debts on time, and that the country never failed to pay any of its dues to any party.

The CBE had said two weeks ago that the total foreign debt amounted to $4.53 billion at the end of March.