Egypt and the IMF are putting the “final touches” to a deal under which the Cairo government will receive a loan to shore up its finances, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has said.
The prime minister was speaking at the opening session of a three-day economic conference called by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to chart the way ahead for the country’s embattled economy.
“We are putting the final touches to a new programme with the IMF,” Mr Madbouly said on Sunday without giving any details.
Egypt and the Washington-based lender opened negotiations shortly after the fallout from Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine began to have an adverse effect on Egypt.
The North African nation currency's has since lost about 20 per cent of its value against the US dollar, with the government placing restrictions on non-essential imports. Inflation has risen to more than 15 per cent, its highest in four years.
Up to $25 billion invested in Egypt’s once-lucrative debt market left the country within a month of the invasion due to the uncertainty roiling emerging markets, the prime minister said.
Tourism revenue were initially hit hard but picked up as the industry globally learnt to live with the conflict.
However, Egypt’s season could have been going better had it not been for the loss of Russian and Ukrainian tourists, who normally account for 30 per cent of all visitors.
There has been no official word from the Egyptian government or the IMF on the size of the loan Cairo wants but it is widely believed to be under $10bn.
The details of the new deal are as important as the size of the loan.
IMF officials are on the record as saying they wanted to see a more “flexible” foreign exchange mechanism, likely believing the Egyptian pound remains overvalued and should shed more of its value.
US 'not our major trade partner'
Mr Madbouly also sought to play down the significance of the Egyptian pound’s diminishing value against the US dollar, saying it should not be taken as an indication of how well the economy is doing.
There are instances, he said, when governments move to lower the value of their local currency to boost exports and attract investment.
Also addressing the conference, acting central bank governor Hassan Abdallah stressed the need to change what he called the culture of the local currency being linked to the dollar.
“We will make an index for the Egyptian pound through a group of other currencies in addition to gold in order to change the culture that we are linked to the dollar,” he said.
“The US is not our major trade partner and we are not a major oil-exporting country, so we don’t really need to be pegged to the dollar. Our main task is to control inflation."
Seeking to steer discussions away from criticising government policies in recent years, Mr Madbouly counselled the conference’s participants to focus on the future.
“Our aim is not to argue about the past but to agree on a clear road map for all the key economic sectors for the sake of the country’s stability,” Mr Madbouly told the inaugural session of the economic conference on Sunday.
President El Sisi also addressed the conference. In televised comments, he focused on the story behind his high-octane drive to modernise the country’s infrastructure and overhaul its economy.
Mr El Sisi’s economic reform programme began in late 2016 when he devalued the pound and partially lifted fuel subsidies, starting a process that continues to this day of introducing new taxes, raising charges on state services like renewing car licences and issuing new passports, as well as removing subsidies on essential services and fuel.
“I instructed the government to resign on Thursday [the day of the devaluation and fuel price rise were announced] if the people rejected the reforms, and I planned to call for an early presidential election on Saturday,” he said.
The Egyptian leader, 67, was first elected in 2014 for a four-year term. He won what would have been his second and final four-year term in 2018.
But a referendum in 2019 approved constitutional amendments proposed by parliament that included extending the presidential term from four to six years, but kept the two-term cap.
Under that amendment, Mr El Sisi is up for re-election in 2024 if he chooses to stay in office for another six years.
“Our path is one of hope and dream and, God willing, we will walk it together. It’s a path wide enough to take us all,” said the Egyptian leader, wearing prescription reading glasses for the first time in public.
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
CHELSEA SQUAD
Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
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Rating: 3.5/5
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
Results
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6.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m, Winner: Mayehaab, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Monoski, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Eastern World, Royston Ffrench, Charlie Appleby
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Madkal, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Taneen, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
SPECS
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