Bankruptcy could force Arab League to leave Egypt

The Arab League’s 22 member states have not been paying their fees, causing it to suffer from a severe financial crisis, diplomats said yesterday.

Almesryoon.com reported that the organisation may be forced to move to Dubai in order for the UAE to cover its expenses.

Egypt has been unable to pay the expenses of the Arab League due to the ongoing economic crisis in the country.

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Ambassador Ibrahim Yousri, former deputy of the secretary-general of the Arab League, told the Almesryoon.com that relocating the organisation to the UAE could not happen because it failed when it was moved to Tunis in 1979.

“Egypt paid 85 per cent of the salaries of the Arab League employees and 66 per cent of its ambassadors for a long time, but today, Egypt has become unable to go continue to do so due to the current economic crises,” Yousri said, urging member states to pay their dues.

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Meanwhile, the former Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister Masoum Marzouq said: “The Arab League has lost its value since the end of [Hosni] Mubarak’s era. Therefore, Arabs have not been paying attention to it.”

The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Abul-Gheit, has warned that the organisation is suffering from a financial crisis adding: “If it was lost, it means that the Arabs have lost their home.”