Activists on social media in Egypt circulated posts about delaying the issuance of passports to citizens against the backdrop of an economic crisis, which caused a lack of paper stock for printing them.
However, a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Interior, on Sunday, completely denied in detail the validity of what it described as the coverage of “media mouthpieces affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood” regarding the delay in issuing passports to citizens for a period of two months, according to the statement.
The Ministry of Interior considered this to be part of “spreading rumors and lies to create confusion.”
The ministry’s statement came after social media activists circulated tweets indicating that there was a shortage in the stock of paper for printing passports.
These tweets claimed that passport paper is imported from Germany and that the German company refrained from exporting paper to Egypt due to failure to pay accumulated debts due to the dollar shortage.
Egypt is witnessing a deep economic crisis, as the market suffers from a shortage of hard currency, while the value of the currency has officially decreased by about 50 percent in less than two years, while its value on the black market reached about 70 pounds to the dollar, a few days ago, that is, less than a quarter of its previous value.
Since President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi took power in 2014, Egypt’s external debt has more than tripled to reach $165 billion, according to official figures, including more than $42 billion due this year, according to an Agence France-Presse report.
2024-02-04 12:43:33
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