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Egypt’s Sisi Says Flexible Currency Is Possible with New Financing

An employee counts Egyptian pounds at a foreign exchange office in central Cairo, Egypt, March 20, 2019. (Reuters)
An employee counts Egyptian pounds at a foreign exchange office in central Cairo, Egypt, March 20, 2019. (Reuters)
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Egypt’s Sisi Says Flexible Currency Is Possible with New Financing

An employee counts Egyptian pounds at a foreign exchange office in central Cairo, Egypt, March 20, 2019. (Reuters)
An employee counts Egyptian pounds at a foreign exchange office in central Cairo, Egypt, March 20, 2019. (Reuters)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Saturday that with tens of billions of dollars in new financing from the United Arab Emirates and the International Monetary Fund, moving to a flexible exchange rate would be possible.

The comments were Sisi's first public remarks since Wednesday, when Egypt let the pound drop to just under 50 pounds to the dollar from 30.85 pounds - the latest in a series of devaluations since early 2022.

The central bank said it would let the exchange rate be determined by market forces except in cases of excessive volatility, and that it had sufficient liquidity to move to such a system after having held the pound steady for about a year.

Sisi said he had stopped the pound currency from floating last year for national security reasons because a large amount of funding was needed before making such a move.

In late February, Egypt announced a deal with Emirati sovereign wealth fund ADQ that would bring in $35 billion over two months, including $11 billion converted from existing deposits.

On Wednesday, as they let the pound depreciate sharply, authorities announced an agreement with the IMF to increase Egypt's current loan and economic reform program with the fund to $8 billion, from $3 billion previously.

Egypt is also seeking $1.2 billion from the IMF's Resilience and Sustainability Trust for vulnerable low or middle-income countries.

"If I have this sum and can achieve flexible exchange rate determined by demand, then I can make it," Sisi said during comments at an event in Cairo, referring to the total inflows.

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Saudi Arabia Makes History with Adoption of Riyadh Treaty on Design Law

Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Makes History with Adoption of Riyadh Treaty on Design Law

Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has made history by uniting the 193 member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to adopt the Riyadh Treaty on Design Law. This landmark achievement, realized after two decades of deliberation, underscores the Kingdom’s leadership in enhancing the global intellectual property system.

The announcement came at the conclusion of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty, a rare event for WIPO, which has not held a diplomatic conference outside Geneva for more than a decade. It was also the first such event hosted in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, representing the final stage of negotiations to establish an agreement aimed at simplifying and standardizing design protection procedures across member states.

Over the past two weeks, intensive discussions and negotiations among member states culminated in the adoption of the Riyadh Treaty, which commits signatory nations to a unified set of requirements for registering designs, ensuring consistent and streamlined procedures worldwide. The agreement is expected to have a significant positive impact on designers, enabling them to protect their creations more effectively and uniformly across international markets.

At a press conference held on Friday to mark the event’s conclusion, CEO of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem highlighted the economic potential of the new protocol.

Responding to a question from Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Suwailem noted the substantial contributions of young Saudi men and women in creative design. He explained that the agreement will enable their designs to be formally protected, allowing them to enter markets as valuable, tradable assets.

He also emphasized the symbolic importance of naming the convention the Riyadh Treaty, stating that it reflects Saudi Arabia’s growing influence as a bridge between cultures and a global center for innovative initiatives.

The treaty lays critical legal foundations to support designers and drive innovation worldwide, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s vision of promoting international collaboration in the creative industries and underscoring its leadership in building a sustainable future for innovators.

The agreement also advances global efforts to enhance creativity, protect intellectual property, and stimulate innovation on a broader scale.

This achievement further strengthens Saudi Arabia’s position as a global hub for groundbreaking initiatives, demonstrating its commitment to nurturing creativity, safeguarding designers’ rights, and driving the development of creative industries on an international scale.

The Riyadh Diplomatic Conference, held from November 11 to 22, was hosted by the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property and attracted high-ranking officials and decision-makers from WIPO member states.