The economy was suffering due to sanctions.
nuclear weapons development program
nuclear weapons development program
NONE
Nuclear energy Nuclear weapons
Egypt is not believed or suspected to have nuclear weapons, or a nuclear weapons program, at this time (May 2009). See Related Link for a discussion of the world's nuclear powers.
The Soviet Union had spies in the nuclear weapons development program.
It started its nuclear weapons program.
South Africa, Canada and Libya. South Africa developed six nuclear weapons under the apartheid government, but they voluntarily disarmed right before the fall of apartheid because 1) there would be no need for a country that wasn't white supremacist anymore to have nuclear weapons in Africa, and 2) they worried that the ANC might proliferate nuclear technology if they got their hands on it as they had a history of relations with leaders like Gaddaffi. Canada, long a major center of nuclear technology R&D, inventing the CANDU reactor and other pieces of nuclear technology, could have very easily developed nuclear weapons but chose an anti-nuclear stance and stated it wouldn't develop the bomb or allow other NATO states to station nuclear weapons on it's territory. Libya was very close to completing a nuclear bomb but Gaddaffi voluntarily gave up his nuclear program and let the US in to remove his weapons after Bush made an example of Iraq. He feared they'd invade and institute regime change in Libya to if he gave them the excuse of WMD program.
I don't see that they do.
Most did their own independent development.
Nuclear weapons
In 1998 alone, the US spent an estimate $35.1 billion on the Nuclear Weapons program. Before that, spending on the program exceeded $40 billion, and the spending on the program is expected to rise.