Kuwaiti opposition, NGOs react to $4bn aid to Egypt

Kuwaiti opposition as well as non-governmental organizations criticized the decision by the Kuwaiti government to provide $4 billion aid to Egypt, following the Egyptian military coup. The former Kuwaiti Parliament Speaker and opposition leader Ahmed Sadun said "Kuwait cannot give grant and financial aid to foreign countries without parliamentary consent. The voice of the people is superior to that of the government." Musallam Al-Barrak, a liberal opposition leader and former Deputy Parliament Speaker, noted that the surprise decision of $4 billion aid to Egypt is unacceptable. "This sum of money cannot be transferred to Egypt without taking the consent of the Parliament," stated Barrak. Besides, Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood Organization called upon the Kuwaiti people to protest the government's decision. Filing a lawsuit in the administrative court, the prominent Kuwaiti lawyer Abdullah al-Kandari also asked for an immediate suspension of the aid decision. "Such foreign aids contradicts the Kuwaiti laws," he argued, detailing that the suit would be tried on July 25. Undersecretary of the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry Khaled Al-Jarallah stressed that the government is resolute to give the aid they previously guaranteed. Governmental sources denoted that the deposit costing $2 billion would be soon transferred to the Egyptian Central Bank, along with a grant of $1 billion comprised of oil and oil products. The remaining $1 billion is planned to be paid on future dates. Vowing financial aid to Egypt during Morsi's rule, Kuwait previously failed to keep the promise. Kuwait's aid package would comprise a $2 billion central bank deposit, a $1 billion grant and $1 billion in oil products. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also pledged each $4 billion aid to the interim government in Egypt, where the army ousted the first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi by a military coup on July 3 after huge street demonstrations against his government.