Egypt

Egypt's Central Bank raises interest rates to curb surging inflation

Egypt's Central Bank said it raised interest rates on Thursday as the embattled Middle Eastern country continues to battle surging inflation and a depreciating currency. In an online statement, the bank's monetary policy committee said the most basic lending rate, the overnight deposit rate, has increased from 16.25% to 18.25%. The hike aims to ease spiraling inflation, with the annual figure reaching 32.9% in February, up from 26.5% in January. Nearly a third of Egyptians live in poverty, according to official figures, and are struggling to keep up with rising prices, which have soared since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. The prices of basic items such as grains, meat, poultry, fish and fruit, have risen drastically over recent months. Since the outbreak of the war in Europe, the Egyptian pound has lost more than 50% of its value against the dollar. The currency slide accelerated after Egypt first announced it had reached a $3 billion bailout agreement with the International .

United Nations says Syria agrees to open 2 new crossings for quake aid

Syria's president has agreed to open two new crossing points from Turkey to the country's rebel-held northwest to deliver desperately needed aid and equipment for millions of earthquake victims, the United Nations announced Monday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the decision by Syrian leader Bashar Assad to open crossing points at Bab Al-Salam and Al Rae for an initial period of three months. Currently, the UN has only been allowed to deliver aid to the northwest Idlib area through a single crossing at Bab Al-Hawa. Guterres said in a statement the toll from the quake continues to mount, delivering food, health, nutrition, protection, shelter, winter supplies and other life-saving supplies to all the millions of people affected is of the utmost urgency. Opening these crossing points along with facilitating humanitarian access, accelerating visa approvals and easing travel between hubs will allow more aid to go in, faster, the UN chief said. The announcement follow

Egypt may allocate land to Indian industries in Suez Canal Economic Zone

Egyptian side considers the possibility of allocating a special area of land for Indian industries in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the Indian side can arrange for the master plan, says the statement

India's renewed relations with Egypt: A perspective of 2 developing nations

The visit of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to India as a guest of honour in India's Republic Day celebrations came at a crucial time for the two developing nations decades long partnership

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi witnesses Republic Day parade

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Thursday joined a select group of world leaders to have graced India's Republic Day celebrations. Sisi, as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations, watched the colourful parade at the majestic Kartavya Path along with President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of other leaders. It was the first time that an Egyptian president is the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. Sisi held wide-ranging talks with Modi on Wednesday, a day after he arrived here on a three-day visit. Every year, India invites world leaders to attend its Republic Day celebrations. There was no Republic Day Chief guest in 2021 and 2022 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, then Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. In 2019, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was the chief guest at the Republic Day parade, while in 2018, leaders of all 10 ASEAN countries attended the ..

Modi hold talks with Egyptian Prez Sisi, focuses to improve bilateral ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held wide-ranging talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, focusing on ways to enhance bilateral ties in a range of areas, including agriculture, digital domain, culture and trade. The 68-year-old influential Arab leader, who arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day visit, is the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. "Deepening our bond with Egypt -- the natural bridge that connects Asia with Africa. PM @narendramodi and President @AlsisiOfficial hold talks adding momentum to the multifaceted India-Egypt relations marked by civilisational, cultural & economic linkages and deep-rooted P2P ties," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted. The Egyptian president visited India in October 2015 to participate in the third India-Africa Forum Summit. This was followed by his state visit in September 2016. This is the first time that the Egyptian president has been invited as the chief guest to India's Republic .

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi heads to India amid investment push

Egypt is trying to drum up foreign investment as it tries to manage a dollar shortage that has led to a sharp depreciation of the Egyptian pound

India eyes economic, military ties with Egypt during El-Sisi's visit

The Egypt President being chief guest at the Republic Day parade portends a beneficial partnership

India, Egypt carry maiden joint exercise among special forces in Rajasthan

The first-ever joint exercise between the special forces of the Indian Army and the Egyptian Army named "Exercise Cyclone-I" is underway in Rajasthan, according to an official statement. The exercise, which began on January 14, is aimed at bolstering defence cooperation between the two nations and focus on sharing professional skills and interoperability of the special forces in desert terrain while undertaking counter-terrorism, reconnaissance, raids and other special operations, the statement added. This is the first exercise of its kind bringing the special forces of both the nations on a common platform. "The 14-day exercise which is being carried out in the deserts of Rajasthan engages both the contingents to advance special forces skills such as sniping, combat free fall, reconnaissance, surveillance and target designation, sharing of information on weapons, equipment, innovations, tactics, techniques and procedures," the release said. The participants would also undertake jo

Egyptian Prez, 180-member military contingent to be part of Republic Day

Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on January 24 and will be greeted by Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh

Joint exercise between special forces of India, Egypt underway in Rajasthan

The first-ever joint exercise between the special forces of the Indian Army and the Egyptian Army named "Exercise Cyclone-I" is underway in Rajasthan, according to an official statement. The exercise which began on January 14 is aimed at bolstering defence cooperation between the two nations and focus on sharing professional skills and interoperability of the special forces in desert terrain while undertaking counter-terrorism, reconnaissance, raids and other special operations, the statement added. This is the first exercise of its kind bringing the special forces of both the nations on a common platform. "The 14-day exercise which is being carried out in the deserts of Rajasthan engages both the contingents to advance special forces skills such as sniping, combat free fall, reconnaissance, surveillance and target designation, sharing of information on weapons, equipment, innovations, tactics, techniques and procedures," the release said. The participants would also undertake join

WEF 2023: ReNew Power explores green hydro project in India, Egypt

The firm, which now generates nearly 1.8% of India's total electricity annually, has a total capacity of 13 Gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar, including projects in the works

India, Egypt to hold first-ever exercises with special forces: Ambassador

Talking about the bilateral trade target, Ambassador said that the $12 billion doesn't represent the potential of both of the countries

Egypt's annual headline inflation increased to 21.9% in December 2022

The increase in prices of basic commodities was behind the rise in the monthly inflation rate: CAPMAS said

Egypt's inflation surges on amid currency's dramatic slide, say statistics

Egypt continues to battle surging inflation amid a dramatic slide of its currency as many Egyptians struggle with price hikes, the country's statistics bureau said on Tuesday. The state-run Central Agency for Mobilisation and Statistics released figures showing that the annual inflation was at 21.9 per cent last month, up from 19.2 per cent in November. That's compared to 6.5 per cent in December 2021, before inflation ballooned in 2022, following the outbreak of Russia's war on Ukraine that rattled the world economy. Prices in Egypt rose across many sectors, from food items and medical services to housing and furniture. Food prices increased by 4 per cent on the average in December, with fruits and dairy products leading the list with 7.6 per cent and 6.4 per cent spikes, respectively. The higher inflation has inflicted heavy burdens on consumers, especially lower-income households. Nearly 30 per cent of Egyptians live in poverty, according to official figures. Most of Egypt's mo

Firm says cargo vessel 'MV Glory' ran aground in Egypt's Suez Canal

A cargo vessel ran aground in Egypt's Suez Canal on Monday, a canal service firm said. Leth Agencies said the vessel, MV Glory, ran aground near the city of Qantara, in the Suez Canal province of Ismailia. The firm said canal rigs are currently trying to refloat the vessel. A spokesman for the Suez Canal Authority did not respond to calls seeking comment.

Egypt's Suez Canal registers record revenue of $7.9 billion in 2022

Egypt's Suez Canal registered a record-breaking revenue of $7.9 billion in 2022, authorities said

IMF approves $3-bn loan to Egypt amid high inflation, forex funds shortage

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that its executive board had approved a loan to Egypt of about $3 billion over 46 months

IMF approves deal to provide $3 bn support package to cash-strapped Egypt

The International Monetary Fund has approved a deal that will provide a USD 3 billion support package to cash-strapped Egypt over a period of almost four years, with the agreement expected to draw in additional USD 14 billion in financing for the Middle East country. The announcement from the IMF's executive board late on Friday comes after a preliminary agreement was reached in October between Egypt and the fund, hours after Egypt's central bank introduced a series of reforms, including a hike in key interest rates by roughly 2 percentage points. The Egyptian economy has been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, events that have played havoc with global markets and hiked oil and food prices worldwide. Egypt is the world's largest wheat importer, most of which came from Russia and Ukraine. The country's supply is subject to price changes on the international market. The deal announced on Friday known as an Extended Fund Facility Arrangement is expected to

COP27: A mirage in the desert

We cannot be parties to this procrastination and lack of intent