8 - 14 November 2001
Issue No.559
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 8 - 14 November 2001 Issue No.559 |
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New Central Bank governor
MAHMOUD Abul-Oyoun, 49, was appointed governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) last week. Abul-Oyoun had occupied the post of deputy CBE governor since 1999 and had been acting CBE governor since the term of his former boss, Ismail Hassan, expired on 13 October.
Hassan, who was CBE governor for the last eight years, led the bank through a period when the Egyptian economy underwent some major changes. During his tenure, the interest rate was liberalised and Egypt negotiated the stand-by agreement with the International Monetary Fund. That period also witnessed the entry of several major international banks into the Egyptian market. Under Hassan, the limitations on the CBE's independence were frequently highlighted, particularly where the issue of the exchange rate was involved.
A second chance
MINISTER of Economy Youssef Boutros Ghali, speaking ahead of the WTO ministerial meeting scheduled to take place in Doha, Qatar, tomorrow, stressed that developing nations are certain to back the launch of a new round of negotiations if their demands are met.
Ghali said that a new round should be a second chance for the world to insure the implementation of the Uruguay Round agreements and to negotiate the liberalisation of the agricultural and service sectors. Ghali also said that developing countries succeeded in narrowing down the implementation problems of the Uruguay Round to 90 issues, of which approximately 50 were resolved during the preparatory meetings. The outstanding issues would be negotiated in a new round.
Egypt and developing nations are also demanding that developed countries reduce their agriculture subsidies and lift barriers to agricultural exports from developing nations. Ghali said, "There should be a clear-cut commitment for the implementation" of the promises made to developing countries.
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