At a Glane
- Qatar plans $3.5 billion tourism investment on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.
- Gulf backing is crucial amid Egypt’s economic challenges and regional instability.
- Qatar’s deal complements UAE’s $35 billion Egypt Mediterranean development.
Qatar is in advanced negotiations to invest $3.5 billion in a major tourism development project along Egypt’s Mediterranean coastline, according to sources familiar with the talks.
The agreement, expected to be finalized by the end of 2025, marks another significant Gulf backing for Egypt’s struggling economy amid ongoing regional conflicts.
While the exact project location and size remain undisclosed, the deal follows the landmark $35 billion investment from the United Arab Emirates in earlier 2024, which also targeted Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.
That UAE investment played a pivotal role in stabilizing Egypt’s economy through a two-year crisis worsened by Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Economic Pressure Mounts as Israel-Iran Tensions Rise
The potential Qatari investment comes as tensions escalate between Israel and Iran, putting additional strain on Cairo’s fragile economy.
Egypt’s financial markets have responded sharply — dollar bonds dipped, the Egyptian pound weakened, and the stock market suffered its worst decline in five years following Israel’s recent airstrikes on Iran.
Egypt faced energy shortages after cuts in Israeli natural gas imports forced it to rely on costly diesel fuel to prevent blackouts during peak summer months.
However, small volumes of Israeli gas resumed last Thursday, easing some immediate pressures.
Under the proposed deal, Qatar would inject $1 billion immediately after signing, with the remaining $2.5 billion disbursed over the next year, sources said.
Both Egyptian and Qatari officials have declined to comment. In April, the two countries announced plans to pursue a broader $7.5 billion investment package.
Gulf Backing Key to Egypt’s Recovery Strategy
Qatar’s move underscores its expanding role in Egypt’s economic revival, complementing a $57 billion international bailout involving the IMF and the EU.
Cairo aims to replicate the UAE’s $24 billion Ras El-Hekma development, a massive coastal project three times the size of Manhattan, featuring new cities and airports.
Recently, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi allocated 174.4 square kilometers (67 square miles) of Red Sea state land to finance tourism and real estate projects through sovereign Islamic bonds. M
eanwhile, Bloomberg reports Kuwait is preparing to convert $4 billion of deposits into similar investments, injecting fresh capital into Egypt’s economy.
Saudi Arabia, however, remains on the sidelines. Despite previous announcements of a $5 billion investment by its sovereign wealth fund, no deals have materialized, with insiders indicating no immediate plans from Riyadh.
This potential Qatar tourism investment signals growing Gulf confidence in Egypt’s recovery, even as geopolitical tensions test the nation’s economic resilience.
