5 factors to affect Egyptian economy due to COVID-19: Al-Mashat

CAIRO – 29 April 2020: There are 5 factors that will affect the Egyptian economy as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which necessitates the importance of the partners ’cooperation with Egypt to support it in the coming period, Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said Wednesday.

Among these factors, the Minister pointed out that the volume of Egyptians ’remittances from abroad amounted to $26.8 billion, most of which were from the Gulf countries, which were currently affected by the crisis related to the decline in oil prices, and consequently the companies that Egyptians work on were affected, pointing out that the transfers contribute 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

This came during a webinar organized by the American Chamber of Commerce and the Egyptian-American Joint Business Council today that was titled "The COVID-19 pandemic: Corona virus is an imminent opportunity for multilateralism."



Rania Al-Mashat added that the tourism income amounted to $13 billion from tourism, which was 80-percent affected by the virus, compared to the previous period of 2019, and contributes to 5 percent of the GDP.

She explained that the decrease in global trade and the movement of transport due to the pandemic will negatively affect the revenues of the Suez Canal amounting to about $ 6 billion, noting that what relates to the oil-related war and its effects will also affect Egypt besides increasing the prices of incoming goods to Egypt, where Egypt is a large market for importing Goods from abroad.

“We have entered the crisis of the Corona virus strongly, as we have strong reserves of foreign exchange and foreign currencies,” the minister stated.

The American Chamber of Commerce organizes monthly and annual meetings on many economic issues and has resorted to dealing through virtual meetings as a precautionary measure against the Corona virus.