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Penning Deals to Operate Russian Industrial Zone in Egypt

Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd L), his Egyptian counterpart President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi (2nd R) and Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) meet onboard a guided missile cruiser at the port of Sochi, August 12, 2014. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd L), his Egyptian counterpart President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi (2nd R) and Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) meet onboard a guided missile cruiser at the port of Sochi, August 12, 2014. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin
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Penning Deals to Operate Russian Industrial Zone in Egypt

Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd L), his Egyptian counterpart President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi (2nd R) and Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) meet onboard a guided missile cruiser at the port of Sochi, August 12, 2014. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd L), his Egyptian counterpart President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi (2nd R) and Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) meet onboard a guided missile cruiser at the port of Sochi, August 12, 2014. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation has announced that the first eight firms have penned partnership deals to operate the Russian industrial zone in Egypt.

The step coincides with a time when economic and commercial ties are developing between Russia and Egypt, knowing that Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Cairo in December in 2017 and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi visited Russia in October last year.

Chairman of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mamish signed a memorandum of understanding with Afanasiev Anton, General Director of Economic Zone at Dubna, to cooperate in the field of transforming and exchanging expertise between the two.

Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said that the first portfolio of eight agreements of intent with interested companies would be signed by Russian Export Center in the Russian industrial zones.

Manturov added that the industrial zone is not only a promising project to develop economic and commercial ties between countries but also a multi-functional station to export Russian industrial products to MENA markets.

The Russian side expects the project of establishing an industrial zone in Egypt to take 13 years, given that the first Russian company will commence its operations in the first phase in 2019. While Russian firms that would operate there will be able to manufacture products of value worth USD3.6 billion per year starting 2026.

The Russian industrial zone is set to be established on more than a 5-million-square meter plot of land in Port Said, with the first phase to cost 190 million dollars.

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IMF Approves Third Review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 Bln Bailout

Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
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IMF Approves Third Review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 Bln Bailout

Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage
Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF along with Katsiaryna Svirydzenka, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF and Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, Deputy Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF, attend a press conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the third review of Sri Lanka's $2.9 billion bailout on Saturday but warned that the economy remains vulnerable.
In a statement, the global lender said it would release about $333 million, bringing total funding to around $1.3 billion, to the crisis-hit South Asian nation. It said signs of an economic recovery were emerging, Reuters reported.
In a note of caution, it said "the critical next steps are to complete the commercial debt restructuring, finalize bilateral agreements with official creditors along the lines of the accord with the Official Creditor Committee and implement the terms of the other agreements. This will help restore Sri Lanka's debt sustainability."
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka plunged into its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades in 2022 with a severe dollar shortage sending inflation soaring to 70%, its currency to record lows and its economy contracting by 7.3% during the worst of the fallout and by 2.3% last year.
"Maintaining macroeconomic stability and restoring debt sustainability are key to securing Sri Lanka's prosperity and require persevering with responsible fiscal policy," the IMF said.
The IMF bailout secured in March last year helped stabilize economic conditions. The rupee has risen 11.3% in recent months and inflation disappeared, with prices falling 0.8% last month.
The island nation's economy is expected to grow 4.4% this year, the first increase in three years, according to the World Bank.
However, Sri Lanka still needs to complete a $12.5 billion debt restructuring with bondholders, which President Anura Kumara Dissanayake aims to finalize in December.
Sri Lanka will enter into individual agreements with bilateral creditors including Japan, China and India needed to complete a $10 billion debt restructuring, Dissanayake said.
He won the presidency in September, and his leftist coalition won a record 159 seats in the 225-member parliament in a general election last week.