Egypt to return $1bln to Qatar in October: MENA

of the Qatari deposits at the central bank, the bank’s governor Hisham Ramez said on Thursday according to state-owned news agency MENA

By November of last year, Egypt had paid back a total of $6 billion to Qatar. The Gulf state had given Egypt $7.5 billion in loans and grants during the presidency of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi, but relations between the two countries soured due to Doha's opposition to Morsi's ouster in 2013.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait have backed the new authorities, giving Egypt with over $20 billion in aid since then.

The move comes despite the recent thaw in tensions between Egypt and Qatar following a call for rapprochement by Saudi Arabia in December.