CAIRO, Egypt \u2014 Egypt\u2019s economy is edging closer to collapse, and now there is one less place the government here can turn to for much-needed financial aid.<\/p>\n
After promising $5 billion in soft loans and grants to help curb the Egyptian pound\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s Central Bank. But earlier this month, the Qatari finance minister said there were no plans to inject more cash into Egypt\u2019s flagging economy \u2014 crippled by a massive budget deficit. The finance minister did not give a reason.<\/p>\n
The apparent about-face suggests that even countries with a seemingly unwavering commitment to Egypt\u2019s economic and political recovery are having second thoughts about deepening their involvement with the increasingly unstable nation.<\/p>\n