Egypt has paid off the final instalment, worth $200 million, of a $1 billion loan it took out from Turkey in 2012 during Mohamed Morsi's brief tenure as president, state news agency MENA said on Thursday. Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, was ousted by the military after mass protests against his rule in 2013, a year after he came to power. His administration was an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who condemned his ouster.
Relations between Turkey and Egypt under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as military chief led Morsi's ouster, have since soured. Egypt also paid Libya $250 million as an instalment towards settling a $1.5 billion loan, also taken out during Morsi's presidency, Central Bank Sub-governor Rami Aboul Naga told MENA, and would pay two more instalments worth a combined $500 million next year to settle the debt.
The payments were made on Wednesday, he told MENA. The central bank did not respond to a request for comment. Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer said two months ago Egypt would pay back around $8 billion in debts before the end of the year. Egypt has paid back $17.5 billion in foreign debts this year after the central bank floated the pound currency in November 2016.
It also paid back a $1 billion debt owed to Qatar in July 2016 and a $2.5 billion deposit in 2014, when Doha asked for its money back following Morsi's ouster. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with Qatar in June this year, accusing it of financing terrorism. Doha denies the charges.