The Gaza War changed the balance of power between Egypt and Tunisia on the one hand and the International Monetary Fund and the West on the other

Published in: 10/23/2023 – 2:44 PM

2 minutes

The two Arab countries declared a hardened position on the war against Gaza. This was unexpected, as these are the two countries suffering from the International Monetary Fund and its reforms… i.e. Egypt and Tunisia.

There are other countries in the region that do business with the IMF, but without the Fund putting pressure on them the way it put pressure on Sisi and Al-Saeed. We mention Morocco and Jordan, where the IMF, despite its inability to implement the required reforms, is currently turning a blind eye.

President Sisi’s position somewhat shocked Western countries that support Israel. As a result of the war on Gaza, Egypt has now moved from a weak position to a better position in its relations with the Fund and the West, and what Egypt’s leaders decide could turn the Middle East upside down.

We should not forget that Egypt only joined the BRICS a few weeks ago, and that it has contracts with Moscow to produce three nuclear power plants, and that the country exports a large part of Israel’s gas, and that it is also the country that the IMF wants to produce. refuses to grant $3 billion in loans signed by the Fund in February last year, on the pretext that Egypt had not implemented its reforms, namely the privatization of most of the Egyptian army’s companies and the total flotation of the Egyptian pound. that the Fund asked the Egyptian regime to cut off the branch it was sitting on.

Floating the Egyptian pound could mean political suicide… Will Egypt resort to debt restructuring instead of an economic reform programme?

Just as is happening in Tunisia, where President Qais refused to cut off humanitarian and food aid, and rejected European loans and subsidies worth $2 billion in exchange for becoming Europe’s policeman in the Mediterranean.

Clearly, the Gaza war exposed the role that international financial institutions played as a tool for the West to put pressure on certain countries. Western countries are even trying to bring these countries together with the United States through meetings to be held soon in Europe. and several African countries, and by applying for additional financing from the World Bank… they seek to use these institutions to a greater extent to further their interests, either in Gaza or to obtain raw materials from African and Latin American countries .