President El-Sisi Meets Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt

alhadath – cairo

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt Mr. Hassan Abdalla.

Spokesman for the Presidency Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy stated that the meeting reviewed the developments and achievements in the banking sector and monetary policy during 2025. These reflect the continued strength of financial soundness indicators, the resilience and solidity of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the efficiency of the banking sector, and its ability to support the country’s macroeconomic stability. This comes within the Central Bank of Egypt’s mandated role, in addition to its leading function as financial advisor and agent to the Egyptian government.

The Central Bank Governor highlighted the rise in the Central Bank’s net international reserves, which reached $52.6 billion in January 2026,

This milestone represents a historic recovery from the $33.1 billion reported in August 2022, effectively securing enough capital to cover approximately 6.9 months of commodity imports, and exceeding global benchmark levels.

The meeting further discussed the increase in the banking sector’s net foreign assets, which reached $25.5 billion in December 2025, the highest level since February 2020. This was driven by an improvement in commercial banks’ net foreign assets, totalling $12.2 billion in December 2025, in addition to the recovery of Egyptians’ remittances from abroad, which recorded the highest level in Egypt’s history. Additionally, the rise was supported by increased tourism revenues, and growth in both direct and indirect foreign investments in Egyptian government debt instruments. Meanwhile, the Central Bank’s net foreign assets recorded $15.1 billion in January 2026.

The CBE Governor noted the improvement in Egypt’s outlook among global credit rating agencies. Standard & Poor’s upgraded Egypt’s long-term credit rating to “B” from “B-” with a stable outlook, for the first time in seven years. Fitch Ratings also affirmed Egypt’s long-term foreign currency rating at “B” with a stable outlook. In the same context, he highlighted the progress indicators in promoting financial inclusion and accelerating digital transformation contributing to building a more inclusive and sustainable economy and bolstering economic growth opportunities.

The meeting further touched on the efforts of the Central Bank and the banking sector in the field of social responsibility, particularly in the health and education sectors, as well as key local and international partnerships and national initiatives in which the Central Bank participated during 2025.

President El-Sisi emphasized the necessity of continuing to curb inflation rates through close monitoring of targeted policies and measures aimed at regulating markets, ensuring the availability of essential goods, and maintaining price stability. This would strengthen the Egyptian economy’s resilience and flexibility in facing challenges and achieving positive and sustainable growth rates. The President also directed the continuation of policies and mechanisms that support financial stability, transparency, and sustainable growth. The President gave directives for expanding incentives to capitalize on available economic opportunities, while providing greater space for the private sector to drive economic growth, in order to attract further investment inflows.