Egypt's foreign reserves nearing $35 bln: President Sisi

Newspaper Title: http://english.ahram.org.eg

Newspaper Number:

Tuesday - 25 July 2017

Egypt’s foreign reserves are now close to $35 billion, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced during a question-and-answer forum at the Fourth National Youth conference in Alexandria on Monday. 

“I am doing my best, Egyptians. Are you fulfilling your duties?” El-Sisi said, addressing the attendees and television audience. 

Earlier this month, the Central Bank of Egypt continued to climb, registering $31.305 billion at the end of June. 

The reserves have been climbing since Egypt signed an agreement for a three-year $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in November 2017. 

Reserves have increased from $28.641 billion at the end of April to $31.125 billion at the end of May. 

The president's estimate of current reserves is close to the $36 billion in foreign reserves Egypt held before the 2011 uprising. 

The popular uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011 led to a period of political turmoil that dried up Egypt's vital sources of foreign currency, such as tourism and foreign investment.