Egyptians, the majority of whom have been crushed by high inflation since 2022, started off the year dreading Ramadan, a time when their food bills typically increase.
However, after widespread media coverage of a new deal with the UAE which officials have promised will ease the continuing economic crisis, there is more hope that the holy month’s daily communal meals will be more affordable this year.
Egypt on Friday announced it had granted a UAE consortium the rights to develop 130 million square metres of its Mediterranean coastline, an area known as Ras El Hekma, in exchange for the North African country’s largest direct foreign investment, totalling $35 billion.
The deal is widely expected to bring down food prices for Egyptians, as it will provide their net-importing country with enough foreign currency to bring parallel markets under control and thereby reduce import costs.
A significant drop in the US dollar’s value against the Egyptian pound on the country’s black market has already been recorded since the announcement of the deal.
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