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Monday, 7 November 2022

Day 1 of COP27 dominates airwaves + EGP float was a smart move, says IMF boss

The opening day of the COP27 summit got all the attention from the nation’s talking heads, who have all decamped to Sharm El Sheikh to broadcast live from the conference:

#1- Passing of the torch from COP26 President Alok Sharma to Sameh Shoukry: Sada Al Balad (watch, runtime: 2:30), Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 1:53), Al Hadath Al Youm (watch, runtime: 2:41) among others.

#2- Loss and damage: Masaa DMC’s Ramy Radwan (watch, runtime: 2:36) and Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi both dedicated time to discussing loss and damage. El Hadidi talked to the former CEO of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol, Omar El Erini, about the subject (watch, runtime: 5:41).

#3- Movers and shakers: Radwan interviewed COP27 President and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (watch, runtime: 23:14) and COP26 High-Level Climate Action Champion Nigel Topping on all things climate change (watch, runtime: 18:11).


The main event last night wasn’t COP-related: IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva sat down for a one-on-one with Lamees to discuss the new USD 3 bn program agreed with Egypt and the global economic crisis. The interview came hours after Georgieva met with President El Sisi on the opening day of the summit in Sharm El Sheikh yesterday.

In her own words: “I applauded Egypt’s commitment to strong policies to shield its economy from successive global shocks. Bold reforms will help secure a more inclusive & sustainable future for its people,” Georgieva wrote on social media after the meeting.

Moving towards a durably flexible exchange rate regime was a “smart move,” Georgieva told El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 2:03). “If you tried to protect the local currency, you’d be depleting your [foreign] reserves,” she said. Egypt was also smart for deciding early on to seek fresh assistance from the Washington-based lender, she said (watch, runtime: 2:40).

A concessional payment schedule: Georgieva emphasized the terms attached to the loan that won’t see Egypt begin repayments for another 10 years, and take another 10 years to pay off the principal and interest (watch, runtime: 1:15).

On the global economy: One-third of the global economy could be hit by recession next year, Georgieva said, estimating that the world will see USD 4 tn in lost output by 2026.

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