CAIRO: Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is urging citizens to endure his austerity measures, including a recent wave of steep price hikes on fuel, electricity and drinking water.
Saturday’s address by El-Sisi comes on the fifth anniversary of June 30 mass protests that brought him to power, after the yearlong rule of an elected Islamist president proved divisive.
His reforms program began after El-Sisi took office in 2014, hitting poor and middle-class Egyptians especially hard and fanning popular discontent.
During the speech, El-Sisi acknowledged the reforms were “difficult and cruel” but maintained that “the suffering from the lack of reform is much worse.”
El-Sisi said his program will spur economic growth by over seven percent in the coming years.
“This will change the reality of life in all of Egypt,” he added.
4 years on, Egypt’s president urges patience over reforms
4 years on, Egypt’s president urges patience over reforms
- Saturday’s address by El-Sisi comes on the fifth anniversary of June 30 mass protests
- El-Sisi acknowledged the reforms were “difficult and cruel”
Iran and US diverge in views on sanctions relief, senior Iranian official to Reuters
- Renewed talks scheduled in early March and could possibly lead to an interim deal
DUBAI: Iran and the United States have differing views over the scope and mechanism to lift sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday, adding that new talks were planned in early March. The official said Tehran could seriously consider a combination of exporting part of its highly enriched uranium (HEU) stockpile, diluting the purity of its HEU and a regional consortium for enriching uranium, but in return Iran’s right to “peacful nuclear enrichment” must be recognized.
“The negotiations continue and the possibility of reaching an interim agreement exists,” the official said. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within days following nuclear talks with the United States this week, while US President Donald Trump said he was considering limited military strikes.
The senior official said Tehran will not hand over control of its oil and mineral resources but US companies can always participate as contractors in Iran’s oil and gas fields.
