Egypt’s pound held steady on Thursday, a day after the central bank let the currency plunge and announced a shift to a more flexible exchange rate system as Cairo secured an expanded $8 billion programme with the International Monetary Fund.
The pound stayed early trade in the same range around 49.5 to the dollar it had settled at near closing on Wednesday, LSEG data showed. Before Wednesday’s de-facto devaluation and a steep interest rate hike, the central bank has held the currency for about a year at just under 31 pounds to the dollar.
A more flexible exchange rate, long a key demand from the IMF, is seen as crucial for restoring investor confidence in an economy that has been hobbled for the last two years by a foreign currency shortage.
Egypt has promised such a move in the past, only to resume holding the currency at a fixed rate, while much of the economy depended on a black market rate that fell as low as 70 pounds, which central bank governor Hassan Abdalla described on Wednesday as a “disease” that reflected a lack of trust in the financial system.
“Thankfully, I can stand here today and say we have enough to fulfil our obligations and more,” he said.
The IMF, which agreed to add $5 billion to its existing $3 billion loan programme with Egypt, has said it is looking for a sustainable and unified exchange rate that was determined by the market.
Under the programme, Egypt has committed to undertake structural reforms to stabilise prices, manage the debt burden and encourage private-sector growth. On Wednesday, Abdallah said that Egyptian interest rates, long amongst the highest globally, would now be on a “downward track.”
The pound’s devaluation and the agreement with the IMF come two weeks after Egypt signed an investment deal with Emirati sovereign fund ADQ that includes $24 billion payment for rights to develop a prime stretch of Mediterranean coastline.
It also includes the conversion of $11 billion in existing deposits to be used for unspecified projects across Egypt. The Egyptian government said the total of $35 billion would be transferred within two months.
The foreign currency shortage has curbed local business activity and led to backlogs at ports and delays in commodity payments.
Remittances from Egyptians working abroad, the country’s top single source of foreign currency, slowed sharply last year amid expectations that the pound would fall.
Since early 2022, when the foreign currency shortage worsened, the pound has now lost more than two-thirds of its value against the dollar in a series of staggered devaluations. https://ekurd.net/egypt-floats-its-currency-2024-03-07
The World Bank confirmed today, Wednesday, that the Iraqi economy is witnessing significant growth, reaching 10.5 percent, while indicating an increase in the productivity of the non-oil sector in Iraq.
The bank said, “The Iraqi economy is witnessing significant growth, reaching (10.5%) during the first half of the year 2022, compared to a growth rate of (2.8%) in 2021,” noting that “the high rate of oil production and export quantities and prices globally has had A major role in this increase, in addition to increasing the productivity of the non-oil sector in Iraq.”
He added, “The increase in public revenues represents an important opportunity that supports the future prospects of the Iraqi economy towards diversifying the economy and increasing the contribution of non-oil sectors to the gross domestic product,” explaining that “despite the favorable development opportunities in Iraq, the Iraqi economy is still suffering from problems.” Many are looking for urgent solutions to sustain resilience and economic growth, including the water crisis and climate challenges.”
While the Central Bank of Iraq confirmed that “its monetary policy seeks to achieve stability and economic growth using various monetary policy tools, traditional and unconventional,” indicating that “its various initiatives, whose amount exceeded (18) trillion dinars, contributed to providing appropriate financing on easy terms for many projects.” Small, medium and large enterprises to support the private sector and economic diversification, including an amount of (1) trillion dinars to finance the purchase of renewable energy systems for individuals and projects. https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=213472
President Joe Biden congratulated Sweden on its admission and said it was a sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intervention in Ukraine had united, rather than divided, the alliance.
“When Putin launched his brutal war of aggression against the people of Ukraine, he thought he could weaken Europe and divide NATO,” Biden said in a statement.
“Instead, in May 2022, Sweden and Finland — two of our close partners, with two highly capable militaries — made the historic decision to apply for full NATO membership,” Biden said. ”With the addition of Sweden today, NATO stands more united, determined, and dynamic than ever — now 32 nations strong.”
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was a guest of honor Thursday evening at Biden’s State of the Union address to Congress, where the president welcomed him to “the strongest military alliance the world has ever seen.”
“This is a historic moment for Sweden. It’s historic for the alliance. It’s historic for the transatlantic relationship,” Blinken said. “Our NATO alliance is now stronger, larger than it’s ever been.”
“Today is truly a historic day,” Kristersson said. “We are humbled, but we are also proud. We will live up to high expectations from all NATO allies. United we stand. Unity and solidarity will be Sweden’s guiding light.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also described it as “a historic day.”
“Sweden will now take its rightful place at NATO’s table, with an equal say in shaping NATO policies and decisions,” he said in a statement.
The Swedish flag will be raised outside the military organization’s headquarters in Brussels on Monday. Stoltenberg underscored that the Nordic country “now enjoys the protection granted under Article 5, the ultimate guarantee of allies’ freedom and security.”
Article 5 of NATO’s treaty obliges all members to come to the aid of an ally whose territory or security is under threat. It has only been activated once – by the U.S. after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks – and is the collective security guarantee that Sweden has sought since Russia invaded Ukraine.
“Sweden’s accession makes NATO stronger, Sweden safer and the whole alliance more secure,” Stoltenberg said. He added that the move “demonstrates that NATO’s door remains open and that every nation has the right to choose its own path.”
Biden, in his speech to Congress, stepped up calls for reluctant Republicans to approve stalled military assistance to Ukraine as the war enters its third year.
“If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you he will not,” Biden said. “But Ukraine can stop Putin. Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself.”
Biden and his NATO counterparts have vowed that Ukraine will join NATO one day, too.
Sweden’s membership had been held up due to objections by NATO members Turkey and Hungary. Turkey expressed concern that Sweden was harboring and not taking enough action against Kurdish groups that it regards as terrorists, and Hungary’s populist President Viktor Orban has shown pro-Russian sentiment and not shared the alliance’s determination to support Ukraine.
After months of delay, Turkey ratified Sweden’s admission earlier this year, and Hungary did so this week.
Russian president Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine from the north, east, and south on February 24, 2022, threatening to destabilize Europe’s post-Cold War order. https://ekurd.net/sweden-joins-nato-2024-03-08
Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani pledged to approve the amnesty law within the ministerial curriculum of his government, but Sunni-Shiite disputes escalated over who is a terrorist, and how to break the connection between those who actually belong to ISIS and carried out terrorist operations, and those whose circumstances forced them to live In areas controlled by ISIS, this would make the process of approving and legislating the law extremely difficult.
The general amnesty law is one of the most prominent demands of the Sunni blocs that stipulated its approval during the negotiations to form the state administration, which included the coordination framework and the Kurdish and Sunni blocs, which resulted in the formation of the new government headed by Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani.
Muzahim Al-Hawit, one of the tribal sheikhs of the western governorates, said in an interview with Mawazine News, “The general amnesty law ended after the disintegration of the Sunni House after the disputes that took place previously between the Sovereignty Alliance and the Taqadum Party when they were demanding the amnesty law,” indicating that they “collected signatures.” To start this project.
He continued his speech by saying: “We, as representatives, support the amnesty law, which includes criminal cases, theft, and against those included in terrorism, and the eradication of resurrection in this law.”
He noted that “in the coming days there will be new movements on this issue,” noting that “it lost control and ended more than a month ago.”
The Parliamentary Legal Committee had previously revealed the possibility of approving the general amnesty law in two drafts, the first through Parliament and the second through the government, while clarifying the main “problem” for its approval.
The government program, according to representatives from the Sunni component, includes issuing a general amnesty law, security checks in their governorates, and abolishing bodies or suspending their work that were a source of concern and crisis for them.
The general amnesty law is the subject of controversy between the Sunni and Shiite blocs, and no agreement has been reached on the groups covered by it yet.
On (February 7, 2024), the head of the Al-Azm Alliance in Diyala Governorate, Representative Raad Al-Dahlaki, called on the Presidency of the House of Representatives and the political forces to take a clear and firm stance to proceed with the approval of the general amnesty law. https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=243513
Today, Saturday, the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar recorded a slight decrease in the local markets of the capital, Baghdad.
The selling price in banking offices in the capital, Baghdad, was 151,250 dinars for every 100 dollars,
while the purchasing price was 149,250 dinars for every 100 dollars. https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=243482
