President Sisi reappointed Hassan Abdalla as Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on Sunday, 18 August, extending his term to August 2025. Abdalla has served as Governor since August 2022, following the resignation of his predecessor, Tarek Amer, who was controversial for his devaluation of the Egyptian Pound. Abdalla’s time in office has seen Egypt’s economy mired by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the conflict in Gaza since October 2023. Thus far, Abdalla’s monetary policy has focused on transitioning Egypt’s exchange rate to be more flexible whilst grappling with record-high inflation. To do so he secured a USD 8 billion loan under the Extended Fund Facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a global organisation that works to support the economic and monetary policy of its member states. The agreement included promises to move towards a flexible exchange rate system. Historically, Egypt has relied on a fixed exchange rate whereby the Egyptian Pound’s value is determined by the CBE, leading to its value being artificially inflated. Exchange rate flexibility means the value of the Pound would be determined naturally by market forces. This is important…
Sisi Reappoints Hassan Abdalla as Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt
August 20, 2024
