Egypt to allow payments in Russian Rubles for travellers amid sanctions

Egypt on Monday announced that it will begin accepting Russian rubles from travellers just days after it declared that the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry will formulate a payment mechanism to allow the use of the Russian ruble in trade exchange with Moscow. The Russian ruble will soon be included in a list of currencies that will be accepted for payments in Egypt, RIA Novosti reported. It cited sources from the press service of Egyptian tour operator Tez Tour.

“According to information from the Central Bank of Egypt, available to Tez Tour, from the end of September 2022, the Russian ruble will be included in the list of currencies used in the country,” the tour operator was quoted as saying by RIA. 

“This period just falls at the beginning of the high season there, so providing opportunities for travel companies and hotels accepting rubles for payment in conjunction with other factors will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the tourist flow.”

Cairo, Moscow agree to switch to local currencies 

In June, Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea said at a conference that Egypt will adopt to a payment system where the country will accept Rubles for trade. "Egypt and Russia plan to use their local currencies in trade transactions amid financial sanctions by the West on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine," Gamea announced. "Maritime and air traffic was disrupted due to the [Ukrainian] crisis, along with banking transactions," Gamea said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. "There is a need to find mechanisms for making payments because Egypt needs Russian wheat.”

Russian and Cairo trade partnerships rose to 14.7% in 2021 to reach $591.7 million, up from $515.6 million in 2020, while Russian exports to Egypt rose by 3.9% to hit $4.178 billion, Egyptian minister informed. Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov meanwhile commented that Moscow and Cairo have both agreed to switch to local currencies in mutual settlements to boost trade cooperation in future. “This will serve the interest of the Russian and Egyptian economies alike,” Manturov had noted.