Sisi Morocco trip cancelled as Egyptian civil unrest rises

The Egyptian President was set to travel to Marrakesh to attend a climate change conference but civil unrest sparked by an economic crisis means he has stayed put

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

14 November, 2016

Inflation in Egypt is at 14 percent and expected to rise further [Getty]

Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh al-Sisi cancelled an upcoming visit to Morocco to attend a climate change conference due to growing civil unrest in Egypt.

Informed sources, from within the climate change conference, which kicked off on 7 November and is set to last until 18 November, told The New Arab’s Arabic publication that Sisi had decided not to travel to Morocco for the Marrakech Climate Conference 2016 which is being held under the chairmanship of King Mohammed VI, and former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and Patricia Espinosa, Executive Director of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Sisi was meant to travel to Morocco to attend the conference on Monday 7 November, with Egyptian authorities providing no explanation for the cancellation of the trip at that time.

On Friday limited demonstrations took place in Cairo and a number of other Egyptian cities against poor economic conditions and rising prices as security forces imposed a clampdown, with at least 130 people arrested.

Last week Egypt's government floated the Egyptian pound while raising fuel prices in order to qualify for a $12 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund.

While the move earned praise from the IMF and the international business community, it has also sparked rising prices on basic commodities such as sugar leading to civil unrest, and concerns within the Egyptian state apparatus of a serious political backlash. Currently inflation in the country stands at 14 percent but is expected to rise further.