Egypt Watch

Sisi meets Bennett and bin Zayed in Sharm El-Sheikh

The Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation announced that the Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, arrived in Cairo, on Monday evening, on an unannounced visit. Bennett also visited Sharm El-Sheikh and held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, in the presence of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. The talks between Sisi and Bennett focused on Egypt’s request for Israel’s support in the International Monetary Fund, in addition to its support for Saudi-American relations.

This comes after the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Egyptian Central Bank to raise the interest rate by 1% on deposit and lending, which led to the depreciation of the pound by about 15% against the dollar.

Last January, reports revealed that Egypt had contacted the Fund to consider the possibility of a new loan. A week ago, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the Fund, expressed concern about the impact of successive rises in food and energy prices on people in Egypt. Georgieva indicated that the Fund is already engaged in discussions with the Egyptian government to help it protect the weakest groups in society, support the most affected companies, and mitigate the impact of the war in Eastern Europe on the Egyptian economy. A few days ago, a memo by J.P Morgan analysts revealed that there is a possibility that Egypt will resort to the Fund for the purposes of financing the balance of payments. Last December, Fitch Ratings also said that Egypt would need a new program with the Fund in the event of a liquidity crisis.