Egypt’s Sisi Meets UAE Leader Amid Growing Economic Challenges

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi received and greeted United Arab Emirates president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, at Cairo International Airport on Wednesday, April 12.

The two sides “explored opportunities to further strengthen the deep-rooted ties”, the Emirati leader tweeted. They also discussed sharing a common interest in fostering regional stability and progress, the tweet added.

Egypt’s presidential spokesperson also released a statement stating that they also discussed regional developments and ways to strengthen the partnership between the two countries to meet growing challenges.

However, there is no clear indication as to whether new agreements or announcements will be made after the visit.

The two countries celebrated 50 years of bilateral ties last year, and the ceremonial visit takes place as Egypt battles a crippling economic crisis.

Why is Egypt strengthening regional diplomacy? 

Most recently, the majority of Egypt’s aid has come from the United Arab Emirates and other Arab Gulf nations.

Egypt’s annual inflation skyrocketed this year, reaching 31.9 percent, its highest in five and a half years. Egypt has also sharply devalued its currency three times since February 2022, which adds to the costs of paying back government debt, including the USD 3.5 billion (EGP 107 billion) in repayments for previous IMF programmes coming due by the end of this year.

Egypt’s partnership with its Gulf allies has helped alleviate its funding crisis in light of the Ukraine conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates Egypt may need to secure a USD 15 billion (EGP 286 billion) package from the IMF to meet its funding requirements over the next three years.