CAIRO — The Egypt the Future: Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC), upon which the administration in Cairo is relying to boost the economy in the medium term, is drawing near amid government concerns about a possible unsatisfactory outcome. In a Feb. 5 statement, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb expressed confidence that the conference, scheduled for March 13-15 in Sharm el-Sheikh, will succeed, that it will attract international support and that multinational companies will invest in seven projects that the state will propose at the gathering. Several factors, including fluctuations in Egyptian-Gulf ties — which have been a source of political and economical support for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi from the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood regime to his running for president — might threaten the conference's success.
The talk in political circles and the media is that with the death of King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia will change its policies toward the Sisi administration. In particular, it is suspected that for Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, the drop in oil prices and their negative and rapid repercussions on general budgets will lead to reduced financial assistance for Egypt.
