President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting with Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Hassan Abdalla on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of the Egyptian Presidency
The meeting focused on efforts to contain inflation, strengthen Egypt’s external balance, and secure foreign exchange reserves amid ongoing geopolitical instability and regional conflicts, presidential spokesman Mohamed El-Shennawy said.
El-Sisi also reviewed progress in Egypt’s economic reform programme, which helped reduce inflation from a peak of 38 percent to 11 percent before the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran, according to the statement.
Egypt’s net international reserves reached a record high of around $53 billion in April 2026, covering 6.3 months of imports and equivalent to about 158 percent of the country’s short-term external debt, the presidency added.
Abdalla discussed the impact of regional conflicts on inflation, capital flows, and the external balance, while reaffirming the central bank’s commitment to maintaining a flexible exchange-rate policy to help absorb external shocks.
The governor also reviewed preparations for Egypt’s hosting of the 33rd annual meetings of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), scheduled to take place under El-Sisi’s patronage in Alamein in June 2026.
The presidency said El-Sisi directed officials to accelerate efforts toward fiscal sustainability, strengthen financial discipline, improve Egypt’s debt structure, boost international reserves, and continue efforts to contain inflation.
Egypt’s economy has shown signs of stabilization over the past year following one of its most severe inflation and foreign currency crises in decades, supported by reforms backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), exchange-rate liberalization, Gulf investments, rising remittances, and strong tourism revenues.
In February, before the outbreak of the war in Iran, the IMF said that Egypt had made “significant progress” in restoring macroeconomic stability, after completing reviews under its $8 billion reform programme and unlocking about $2.3 billion in additional financing.
According to recent Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) data, Egypt’s annual inflation rate eased to 13.4 percent in April from 13.5 percent in March, although monthly inflation accelerated due to rising food, electricity, transport, and housing costs.
The CBE kept interest rates unchanged in April, citing heightened inflation risks and regional uncertainty stemming from the Gulf conflict and disruptions to global shipping and energy markets.
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