{"id":613064,"date":"2024-01-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2024\/01\/08\/the-economy-dominated-the-airwaves-until-the-early-hours\/"},"modified":"2024-01-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T00:00:00","slug":"the-economy-dominated-the-airwaves-until-the-early-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2024\/01\/08\/the-economy-dominated-the-airwaves-until-the-early-hours\/","title":{"rendered":"The economy dominated the airwaves until the early hours"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new gov\u2019t report on the economy gave our nation\u2019s talking heads a lot to talk about:<\/strong>Lamees El Hadidi spoke with the head of the Information and Decision Support Center Osama El Gohary about a report the center issued that laid out some ambitious targets for the Egyptian economy to reach by 2030 (watch, runtime: (watch, runtime: 20:34<\/a>).<\/p>\n

** In case you missed it, we\u2019ve got a rundown of the report in the newswell, above.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The government doesn\u2019t want to only securitize Suez Canal revenues: <\/strong>El Gohary explained that the report\u2019s idea of securitizing 20-25% of the country\u2019s USD revenues is not related only to the Suez Canal revenues, but rather to the country\u2019s various dollar revenues, which may include remittances from Egyptians abroad \u2014 a practice that exists in other countries.<\/p>\n

Lamees does not seem convinced<\/strong>: <\/strong>\u201cThe report is very ambitious, outlining unrealistic numbers, and doesn\u2019tgive any indication as to how these numbers and goals will be reached \u2026 the bit on the exchange [rate] was comedic,\u201d Lamees said during a conversation with economist Medhat Nafei on Saturday (watch, runtime: 3:04<\/a>). Nafei told Lamees that \u201cI don\u2019t fully agree with the plan to [securitize 20-25% of the government\u2019s USD revenues]. It will not solve the problem of our FX shortage, but simply push it back to future years. <\/p>\n

2024 \u201cmay be the most difficult for us economically\u2026whether for people\u2019s pockets, lives,<\/strong> or the government itself,\u201d<\/strong> due to foreign debts and the cost of servicing them for this year, El Hadidi said on her show. El Hadidi also contrasted the prime minister\u2019s previous description of the USD crisis as \u201ctransient\u201d with his more recent statements that the crisis is expected to continue until mid-2025.<\/p>\n

Adib had a very Adib-esque suggestion of his own: <\/strong>Amr Adib said that Egypt needs \u201can economic war council that provides the president with the best advice\u201d in light of economic difficulties we face (watch, runtime: 22:33<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Adib<\/strong> and El Hadidi confront anti-S<\/strong>yrian campaigns: <\/strong>Amr Adib and Lamees El Hadidi denounced social media campaigns supporting boycotts of local Syrian restaurants and companies. The economic crisis does not justify the abuse of Syrian residents \u2014 who number some 1.5 mn people in Egypt and contribute to the development of the local economy \u2014 the two presenters said, adding that no one would accept the racist treatment of any of the 10 mn Egyptians who live and work abroad, (watch, runtime: 14:34<\/a>) and (watch, runtime: 5:32<\/a>).<\/p>\n

90<\/strong>% of Gaza\u2019s populatio<\/strong>n has been subjected to forced displacement, <\/strong>Mohamed Sherdy said on Al Hayah Al Youm, citing UNRWA data, (watch, runtime: 1:59<\/a>). \u201cWhere will these people go after the end of the war,\u201d Adib said on El Hekaya while discussing how Arab countries could rebuild Gaza (watch, runtime: 2:27<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Also on the airwaves last night:<\/strong><\/p>\n