UAE, Egypt renew currency swap deal

The central banks of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt renewed their currency swap agreement between their respective currencies on Tuesday.

The nominal value of the deal was set at 5 billion Emirati dirhams or 69 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.36 billion). It was signed by UAE Central Bank (CBUAE) Governor Khaled Balama and Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Hassan Abdalla.

The renewal aims to foster trade between the two countries, boost financial cooperation and support economic development.

“This agreement contributes to supporting financial stability, and facilitating trade and investment operations between the two countries. It represents a progressive step within our ongoing efforts to deepen the utilization of local currencies in bilateral settlements, in line with international best practices, thereby enhancing the resilience of the financial system in both nations,” said Balama.

Abdalla described the renewal as a continuation of close cooperation to support joint efforts to strengthen economic ties.

“The agreement provides a vital tool to promote transactions in local currencies for commercial and financial settlements, enhancing the resilience of financial markets in both countries. We look forward to this step unlocking wider horizons for cooperation in the fields of finance and investment, in a way that supports economic development plans in both nations,” he said.

The UAE and Egyptian central banks made a joint statement on Aug. 30 to cooperate and coordinate on resuming all operations at Banque Misr’s UAE branches after the US Treasury Department decided to suspend dollar transactions at the bank’s Emirati branches due to alleged ties with Iran on Aug. 28.