Tripoli, 5 May 2103:
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, speaking on TV last night said that the $2 billion given to Egypt last . . .[restrict]month was not a loan but an investment.
The transfer of the money was confirmed three weeks ago by Central Bank Governor Saddek Elkaber. He too confirmed that the money was not a loan. He called it a deposit.
The provision of the money to Egypt has been deeply unpopular with Libyans who have been asking why Egyptians should benefit when money is not being spent in Libya. There have been complaints that the money was given merely to prop up the Egyptian government.
Reflecting that unpopularity, the spokesman for the General National Congress Omar Hemidan yesterday said that the transfer had not been made or approved by Congress. [/restrict]
