13 June 2023; MEMO: Egypt's supply minister has denied that India is providing Cairo with a credit line to help boost the North African country's failing economy, after Bloomberg reported New Delhi was giving Cairo an unspecified sum.
Reuters reported that the Egyptian Supply Minister Ali Moselhy said that instead, discussions were ongoing for imports using local currencies other than the dollar.
Moselhy said that Egypt was also in discussions with Russia and China to trade in local currencies.
Egypt's economy is in dire straits, with the Egyptian pound falling, little foreign currency and soaring inflation.
Citizens have struggled to buy food as the cost of basic staples has soared.
Egypt has traditionally been bailed out by the Gulf states, including after the war in Ukraine when they pledged $22 billion in deposits and investments to Cairo.
In March last year, the government began talks with the IMF for a $3 billion loan linked to reforms. It was the fourth time Egypt had turned to the IMF for a bailout in six years.
Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi is set to visit Egypt later this month to grow the strategic partnership in place between the two countries.
During the trip, the two countries will be looking to boost trade, investment, agriculture and defence cooperation.
Human rights activists have drawn attention to an increase in human rights abuses under Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) including the targeting of journalists and opposition politicians and academics.
Modi served as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat during the 2002 riots, when 1,000 people were killed, and has faced accusations that he did not do enough to stop the violence.
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has presided over a relentless crackdown on opponents and perceived opponents of the government, imprisoning some 65,000 political prisoners.
