Egypt’s central bank governor resigns

Egypt’s central bank governor resigns

Egypt’s central bank governor has resigned as the Arab state struggles with a foreign currency shortage and the economic repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to state-run media.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had accepted Tarek Amer’s resignation and appointed him as a presidential adviser, Egyptian state media reported. There was no announcement on who would replace him, with the bank due to hold a monetary policy committee meeting on Thursday.

Amer had held the post since 2015 and was appointed for a second term four years later. But he had come under increasing pressure after foreign investors withdrew $20bn from local debt markets and global food and energy prices soared after Russia invaded Ukraine.

In March, Egypt turned to the IMF for additional financial support and those negotiations are continuing. It is already one of the fund’s biggest borrowers, after Argentina, securing a $12bn loan in 2016 and about $8bn in loans during the coronavirus pandemic.

The government was credited for making tough fiscal reforms to secure the IMF loan in 2016, including allowing the Egyptian pound to devalue, with the currency losing half its value.

But Sisi’s regime has been criticised for expanding the role of the military across all spheres of the