Qatari-funded NGO behind US aid reduction

CAIRO – 26 August 2017: A non-governmental organization funded by Qatar has been involved in the United States’ (US) recent decision to reduce economic aid to Cairo, according to the state-owned Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper.

Sources quoted by the newspaper indicated that the US decision to reduce the aid was influenced by a report published by the Human Rights First non-governmental organization (NGO), on the civil organizations’ status in Egypt.

The NGO has published a report on its website claiming that there is “harsh security crackdown on non-governmental and governmental organizations in Egypt.” The report was published during sessions held at the US Congress to review and adapt assistance to Egypt of 2018.

On Tuesday, the U.S. decided to reduce $ 290 million of aid allocated to Egypt, justifying the decision by stating that Egypt has failed to progress in the field of human rights, referring to the recently approved non-governmental organizations (NGO) law which restricts civil society, Reuters reported.