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CAIRO, July 24 (Reuters) - Egypt's foreign reserves are close to $35 billion, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Monday.
The figure brings the country to about where it was before a 2011 uprising drove tourists and foreign investors away, drying up foreign reserves. Egypt roughly had $36 billion in reserves before the uprising.
"How much do you think are central bank reserves I will not say - who said 35 The answer is that it's very close to 35 billion ... could anyone have imagined 10 months ago that there would be $35 billion," Sisi said at a press conference on Monday.
The central bank said earlier this month that Egypt's foreign reserves reached $31.305 as of the end of June.
Reserves have been climbing since Egypt floated the pound currency in November as part of a $12 billion International Monetary Fund lending programme aimed at boosting the economy.
Egypt's economy has been struggling since the 2011 uprising that toppled long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak, but the government hopes the three-year IMF loan will put the country on the right track.
(Reporting by Ali Abdelaty; Editing by Catherine Evans; writing by Arwa Gaballa) ((arwa.gaballa@thomsonreuters.com; +20 2 2578 3290;))
The figure brings the country to about where it was before a 2011 uprising drove tourists and foreign investors away, drying up foreign reserves. Egypt roughly had $36 billion in reserves before the uprising.
"How much do you think are central bank reserves I will not say - who said 35 The answer is that it's very close to 35 billion ... could anyone have imagined 10 months ago that there would be $35 billion," Sisi said at a press conference on Monday.
The central bank said earlier this month that Egypt's foreign reserves reached $31.305 as of the end of June.
Reserves have been climbing since Egypt floated the pound currency in November as part of a $12 billion International Monetary Fund lending programme aimed at boosting the economy.
Egypt's economy has been struggling since the 2011 uprising that toppled long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak, but the government hopes the three-year IMF loan will put the country on the right track.
(Reporting by Ali Abdelaty; Editing by Catherine Evans; writing by Arwa Gaballa) ((arwa.gaballa@thomsonreuters.com; +20 2 2578 3290;))
