Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said that the recent pandemic outbreak negatively impacted five main sectors in Egypt, Invest-Gate reports.

In a webinar held by the ministry in collaboration with the American Chamber in Egypt, titled “COVID-19 Pandemic: An Imminent Opportunity for Multilateralism,” Al-Mashat presented the implications of the current crisis on the local economy’s five sectors.

Expatriates’ remittances, which contributes to 10% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and come particularly from Gulf countries, could be affected by the drop in oil prices and employee dismissals by affected companies.

As for tourism, which represents 5% of the GDP, inbound tourism reservations have dropped by 80% in comparison with the same period last year.

The decline in global trade and transportation could have a negative effect on the Suez Canal revenues, she added.

Moreover, the ongoing oil war led to a sharp drop in international oil prices, exacerbated further by the collapse in global demand, which could affect the sector in Egypt.

The webinar was attended by Sherif Kamel, the president of the Chamber in Egypt, Steve Lotus, the vice president of the chamber from Washington, along with 300 participants representing 130 of top American companies and several ambassadors to Egypt.

Al-Mashat also pointed to Egypt’s policy response to cushion the negative implications of the pandemic since day one, whether fiscal or monetary, which covers several sectors including tourism, industry, real estate, or exchange, referring to the strong fiscal and foreign exchange buffers Egypt owns.

The minister further affirmed the importance of multilateral partnerships to relieve the pandemic ramifications on the private sector in a bid to provide liquidity.