It’s clear to most that the Egyptian economy has suffered extensively in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution. Amid the massive drop in tourism, exports and foreign investments, Egypt’s foreign reserves declined by more than 50 percent from USD 36 billion to 17 billion. Even the Suez Canal – an important earner of hard currency – has failed to pick up the slack, with the slowdown of global trade translating into a slowdown of traffic through the Canal. The bottom line is that anything that once generated a flow of foreign currency for Egypt has vanished and the country is now grappling with an unprecedented currency crisis. To compound the issue, Egypt is an import-reliant country: With 90 million consumers, we import nearly everything, from energy to food and industry inputs. All of these imports are now in jeopardy due to the crippling currency crisis – no dollars means no imports. The Egyptian economy is now a “Catch-22” case; our only solution to solve the problem is to lock down a huge loan in foreign currency. Since the 2011 revolution, Egypt relied largely on her Gulf friends, particularly Saudi Arabia…
