Égypte-actualités

In the wake of the Arab uprisings, Qatar is using its vast wealth and media empire to become a regional superpower. Its historic ties with the Muslim Brotherhood will determine the success of Doha’s strategy.

It is not unusual for a country like Saudi Arabia to try to play a leading role in the region’s politics, but for a tiny nation like Qatar – with a native population of no more than 200,000 people – it is remarkable.

Due mainly to its vast oil and gas wealth, the small Gulf peninsula is able to stand among the region’s central powers. Qatar has been successful in leveraging its economic fortune and al-Jazeera media empire to bolster its reputation as a regional superpower. (...)

After its media support of the revolutionaries, Doha is getting cozy with Egypt and Tunisia’s new Islamist rulers. In Libya, Qatar was at the forefront of Arab military and financial support for the NATO and Libyan rebel forces that unseated Muammar Gaddafi. In Syria, the emir is risking everything to bring down the Bashar al-Assad regime.

At the center of Qatar’s strategy is its historic ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, who have become the main beneficiaries of the Arab uprisings. Betting on the Brotherhood, however, has its risks – particularly among the other Gulf states, who view them as a greater threat than Iran.

Layla al-Shoumari / Al-Akhbar

More : http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/muslim-brotherhood-paves-way-qatar%E2%80%99s-ascent

Le Qatar, riche pays gazier du Golfe, va acheter en Egypte des obligations pour 3 milliards de dollars, qui vont s'ajouter à une assistance financière de 5 milliards de dollars, a annoncé mercredi le Premier ministre du Qatar, cheikh Hamad Ben Jassem Al-Thani.

"Nous avons décidé d'ajouter des obligations du gouvernement égyptien d'une valeur de trois milliards de dollars", a déclaré cheikh Hamad lors d'une conférence de presse avec son homologue égyptien Hicham Qandil.

Le Qatar a déjà fait don d'un milliard de dollars au Caire et placé quatre milliards de dollars en dépôt à la Banque centrale égyptienne.

http://www.europe1.fr/International/Egypte-le-Qatar-achetera-des-obligations-1477673/

Egypt’s economy is edging closer to collapse, and now there is one less place the government here can turn to for much-needed financial aid.

After promising $5 billion in soft loans and grants to help curb the Egyptian pound’s recent slide against the dollar, the tiny but vastly wealthy Gulf nation of Qatar is now backing off pledges of any further funding for the cash-strapped nation.

Observers saw Qatar and its royal family as initial backers of the Muslim Brotherhood government and its president, Mohamed Morsi, providing substantial funds and deposits to Egypt’s Central Bank. But earlier this month, the Qatari finance minister said there were no plans to inject more cash into Egypt’s flagging economy — crippled by a massive budget deficit. The finance minister did not give a reason.

Global Post

More : http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/130322/qatar-abandoning-egypt?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=t.co

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi will arrive in Doha on Monday evening to attend an annual Arab League Summit slated for the following day.

Morsi will deliver Egypt's opening speech at the event, after which he is expected to hold talks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Ben Khalifa Al-Thani.

During his two-day visit, Morsi will also meet with officials of the Egyptian-Qatari Business Council and members of the Egyptian expatriate community in Doha.

More on: http://arabia.msn.com/news/middle-east/1748592/egypts-morsi-in-qatar-monday-for-arab-league-summit/

With the weakening of a Dubai port company in the Suez Canal, Qatar sees an opening to exert influence on this major trade artery.

Major General Ahmed Wasfi, Second Field Army Commander in Egypt, toured the Suez Canal on 9 March 2013, following statements by the head of the Suez Canal Commission that the canal is a red line that should not be crossed. These acts reconfirm the critical importance of the canal, considered one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. (...)

The Suez Canal is a recurring talking point in statements by foreign officials, as was evident in the recent visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry. But it is also the backyard of a regional conflict. There is increased talk of a possible conflict between Qatar and the UAE concerning the implications of the Sharq al-Tafria project.

Qatari investment in Egypt in on the rise. The Gulf country’s economic reach inside Egypt was apparent in recent statements by Qatari Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jassim. “Qatar will not let Egypt collapse economically,” he said. Qatar provided Egypt with aid and a deposit of around $5 billion. However, this all pales in comparison to rumors that the Qataris wish to acquire a large portion of UAE’s investments in the Suez region.

(Al-Akhbar)

More : http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/egypt-qatar%E2%80%99s-suez-canal-bid

ان أثار مصر ليست أحجارا كما يتوهم البعض و لكنها علما استفاد منه الغرب و طوره اما نحن فلم نعطى لهذا العلم حقه فى التقدير
ان اثار مصر ليست احجاره و انما هى سبب سببه رب العالمين ليسترزق منه الاف العاملين فى مجال السياحه المرتبطه بالاثار الاسلاميه و القبطيه و الفرعونيه و اليونانيه و الرومانيه

و قبل ان اكتب عن تاجير اثار مصر اود ان نتذكر سويا ما حدث فى نوفمبر 2011 عندما وقف شباب مصر عند الاهرامات لمنع اقامة حفل خاص لشركه سياحيه بولنديه فى 11 نوفمبر 2011  و كان من المقرر ان يضم الحفل الخاص اكثر من 1000 يهودى من دول العالم و ذلك لاقامة طقوس دينيه يهوديه خاصه بالاهرامات و نجمة داود و كان المراد من هذا الحفل ان يبرهن اليهود للعالم انهم لهم جذورا حضاريه فى مصر و انهم بناة الاهرام

Les monuments de l’Egypte ne sont pas que des pierres comme le pensent certains. C’est tout un art, que l’occident a su développer et dont il a su profiter, alors que nous n’avons même pas su l’apprécier.

 Les monuments de l’Egypte ne sont pas que des pierres. Le Seigneur nous les a confiés pour qu’ils deviennent le gagne-pain de milliers de travailleurs dans les domaines du tourisme qui y sont associés, que ces monuments soient islamiques, coptes, pharaoniques ou gréco-romains.

Et avant d’écrire sur la location des monuments égyptiens, souvenons-nous de ce qui s'est passé le 11 novembre 2011, quand les jeunes égyptiens ont empêché la tenue aux Pyramides d’une cérémonie spéciale organisée par une société polonaise.  Cet événement visait 1000 juifs venus du monde entier, pour établir un rituel religieux juif lié aux pyramides et à l'étoile de David. Le but de cette cérémonie était  de démontrer que les Juifs étaient bel et bien liés à  la civilisation égyptienne et qu’ils étaient les constructeurs des Pyramides.

The Qatari government has agreed to provide an additional $3 billion of aid to Egypt, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said on Wednesday.

"We reached an agreement to add more bonds from the Qatari government in the amount of $3 billion. During the coming days, we will discuss the details of issuing those bonds," Sheikh Hamad told a joint news conference with Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil.

He did not clarify the way in which the aid would be structured. Kandil told the news conference that the aid would be in the form of "bond deposits", also without elaborating.

Sheikh Hamad said Qatar would supply natural gas to Egypt in the summer when it was needed. "We also discussed projects that we agreed on four or five years ago, especially in iron and steel," he said.

Qatar did not ask Egypt for anything in return for its latest aid, Sheikh Hamad added.

The gas-rich Gulf state has already provided Cairo with $5 billion in loans and grants since Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Mursi was elected last year.

More on:

http://www.tradearabia.com/news/LAW_233830.html

Shareholders and investment funds that make capital gains from Qatar National Bank's (QNB) bid for Cairo-based National Societe Generale Bank (NSGB) will face a 10 percent tax, Egypt's tax authority said on Tuesday.

Egypt's regulator approved the QNB offer in February after insisting that the Qatari lender buy 100 percent of Egypt's second-largest private sector bank by market value rather than the originally planned 77 percent stake.(...)

The Egyptian tax authority said Societe Generale would be exempted from taxes for the transaction under an agreement to avoid double taxation between Egypt and France.

But individual shareholders and investment funds holding minority stakes in NSGB will have to pay a 10 percent tax on their gains, the tax authority wrote in a letter to the stock exchange, which was published on Tuesday.

More on: http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/latest-news/230683-egypt-to-apply-gains-tax-in-qnb-bid-for-nsgb.html

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Qatar called for more economic aid to Egypt Monday during the Arab Summit’s opening session in Doha.

During the opening of the 24th Arab Summit, Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said, “We should economically support the Arab Spring countries, especially Egypt, for the sacrifices it made for the Arab World.”

“Egypt, with its standing and population, deserves support,” he added, describing such support as a duty.

More on:http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/qatar-calls-arab-countries-support-egypt

Egypt’s economy is edging closer to collapse, and now there is one less place the government here can turn to for much-needed financial aid.

After promising $5 billion in soft loans and grants to help curb the Egyptian pound’s recent slide against the dollar, the tiny but vastly wealthy Gulf nation of Qatar is now backing off pledges of any further funding for the cash-strapped nation.

Observers saw Qatar and its royal family as initial backers of the Muslim Brotherhood government and its president, Mohamed Morsi, providing substantial funds and deposits to Egypt’s Central Bank. But earlier this month, the Qatari finance minister said there were no plans to inject more cash into Egypt’s flagging economy — crippled by a massive budget deficit. The finance minister did not give a reason.

The apparent about-face suggests that even countries with a seemingly unwavering commitment to Egypt’s economic and political recovery are having second thoughts about deepening their involvement with the increasingly unstable nation.

Morsi’s authority is under threat as sporadic violence chips away at law and order and parliamentary elections are stalled. Rising prices and fuel shortages are contributing to ongoing unrest, and the government has yet to put forth a comprehensive economic program.

“On the Qatari side, they are putting their money into a bit of a black hole,” Michael Stephens, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank in Qatar, said of the country’s aid to Egypt. “What we don’t know is whether or not they [the Qataris] have allocated a specific budget for Egypt — how long they are willing to keep funding. They will stay in Egypt, but they will also be looking for other allies.” (...)

More on: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/130322/qatar-abandoning-egypt

Employees at National Société Générale Bank (NSGB) are threatening to strike on Monday after the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority approved a mandatory tender offer made by Qatar National Bank (QNB) to buy 100% of NSGB, Société Générale’s Egypt operation, instead of the originally planned 77.17% stake.

QNB made the request to Egypt’s Central Bank and it was approved last Thursday.

“QNB will buy 100% of the shares at EGP 38.65 per share,” said EFSA in a statement to the Egyptian Exchange (EGX).

QNB has offered this price compared with Sunday’s EGP 37.52.

Head of General Syndicate for Workers at Banks Gamal Abdel Nasser said that the workers will stage a protest before the lenders’ head office.

Meanwhile, EFSA told Reuters  that it had obliged Qatar National Bank to submit an offer for 100 percent of NSGB”.

“The problem here is in the word: Qatar,” said economy expert Sherif El-Khereiby.

“On a first impression, the situation may look negative, but the fact that money is entering the country is a good sign,” he said.

El-Khereiby said that officials in Qatar are unlikely to take advantage of the workers or “deceive NSGB in any way

More on: http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/03/03/nsgb-workers-threaten-strike-over-qatar-problem/

Qatar's generosity towards Egypt is widely seen by non-Islamist Egyptians as the Gulf state seeking to establish a foothold in countries that have been swept by Arab Spring revolts.

(...)

Qatar was an anathema to former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who had made no secret of his contempt for the super-rich state and what he saw as its propaganda tool, Al Jazeera television.

But all that changed with the fall of the Mubarak regime in 2011 and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood as Egypt's most powerful political group.

Qatar has since poured billions of dollars into Egypt, mostly as bonds to bolster the country's fast-dwindling coffers. Top Qatari officials, from the emir down to the head of his intelligence agency and the powerful prime minister, have been frequent visitors to Cairo in recent months.

On the Egyptian side, the Brotherhood, rather than the foreign ministry, controls the country's dealings with Qatar. Khairat El Shater, a wealthy businessman and arguably the Brotherhood's most powerful figure who was disqualified from running in the country's 2012 election for president, has been the regime's point man on relations with Qatar, frequently flying there on unannounced visits.

Top Qatari officials say they are helping Egypt because they do not want to see the country's economy continue to sink. (The National)

More : http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/qatars-influence-in-egypt-runs-deeper-than-its-pockets

In the center of Cairo, young men hold up a burning flag for the cameras to show their fury at a nation they believe is meddling in their country and the wider Middle East.

In the center of Cairo, young men hold up a burning flag for the cameras to show their fury at a nation they believe is meddling in their country and the wider Middle East.

It's a familiar image. But it's not the U.S. flag they are waving, it is that of Qatar, the Gulf state that has used its billions to spread its influence in the wake of the Arab Spring.

For most Western governments and officials, the influence of Qatar emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani's government is seen as broadly positive.

Qatar's neighbors are uneasy, however.

In Egypt, Libya and Syria, where Qatar tried to play a role post-Arab Spring, it finds itself blamed for much that has gone wrong on a local level. Close ties to Egypt's new leaders, the Muslim Brotherhood, have alarmed countries like the United Arab Emirates, where the Islamist group is still banned and which in January said it had foiled a Brotherhood-linked coup plot.

Senior officials in the UAE have long believed Qatar has long-term strategy to use the Brotherhood to redraw the region. (...)

"While prior to the revolutions, Qatar was seen more as a mediator, its foreign policy recently has been much more proactive and in some cases partisan." (...)

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD?

The emirate has long been a country of sometimes baffling contradictions. While in many ways one of the most conservative of the Gulf states, it has also proved the most enthusiastic about the changes wrought by the Arab Spring.

Of the 1.9 million people who live there, only some 250,000 are ethnic Qataris, most of whom practice Wahhabism, the austere form of Islam also practiced in Saudi Arabia.(...)

The emirate has clearly emerged as something of a focal point for the group, originally founded in Egypt in 1928 and now with national chapters across much of the Islamic world. (...)

ARMS, AL JAZEERA
Senior Brotherhood officials deny any regional conspiracy; national chapters in different countries say they share ideology but have no direct links.(...)

As President Mohammed Mursi's government in Egypt has struggled with mounting economic woes, Qatar has stepped up as an increasingly vital financial backer. In Syria, it has been a leading supplier of rebel arms.

But already, Qatar is feeling the heat for its actions. In Libya, Qatar is being blamed for an increasingly destabilizing rise in Islamist intolerance and violence. In Egypt, it finds itself caught up in the popular dissatisfaction with Mursi and accusations of economic imperialism: a multibillion dollar Suez Canal investment deal was described by protesters as a foreign attempt to seize control of vital national assets. (...)

Indeed, Qatar's problems with its neighbors may be only just beginning.

"People asking questions are met with walls of silence," said the Doha-based analyst. "That doesn't wash very well with an Egyptian who has just been shot in the leg in Tahrir Square."

More on: http://www.60news.com/news-rising-power-qatar-stirs-unease-among-some-mideast-185715/