Egypt prepares for multiple scenarios amid regional uncertainty, energy market pressure: Prime Minister

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stated on Thursday that Egypt is preparing for various potential scenarios due to ongoing regional uncertainty and sustained pressure on global energy markets and financial flows. He described the current regional landscape as having a "high degree of uncertainty" and noted that the government views the situation as an "unstable transitional phase." Madbouly highlighted the simultaneous presence of escalation and de-escalation paths, making future developments difficult to predict. He also mentioned volatile market sentiment, shifting rapidly between pessimism and optimism, indicating continued instability. The Prime Minister pointed to the US-Israeli war, regional escalation, and Tehran's near closure of the Strait of Hormuz as factors driving soaring global energy prices. In response, Egypt has implemented measures such as earlier shop closures, partial remote work, reduced street lighting, cuts in public spending, and a fuel price increase of up to 30%. Government figures show the energy import bill sharply rose from $1.2 billion in January to $2.5 billion in March due to surging global prices for fuel, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas, and crude oil. Madbouly asserted that the government's decisions since the crisis began have been crucial for economic stability. He noted that while early international assessments predicted Egypt would be severely impacted, recent evaluations show improvement, placing it among moderately affected e