by Ahmed El-Mahdi: The North Sinai Chamber of Commerce says markets are stable despite the recent grave events in the governorate and the continued clashes between army and police forces and terrorist organisations in the area. Sinai residents are used to such incidents, and are therefore accustomed to the current situation and are carrying on with their normal lives, the head of the North Sinai Chamber of Commerce, Abdallah Qandil, says.
Despite the fact that the residents of Sinai are not much affected by what is going on, given the shocking terrorist attacks which targeted police and army bases in North Sinai, the killing of several soldiers and the continued clashes, yet, according to the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce, these terrorist operations are mainly aimed at destroying the State and its economy. The intention is to hamper security operations and unsettle domestic stability, which in turn will have a direct impact on the economy.
So far, however, the market movement is continuing normally with rates of buying and selling unaffected by events, the federation says. They add that the only effect on rates is due to the current disquiet of Al-Arish locals and the entire governorate as terrorist operations continue in Sinai, targeting its security and Egypt’s national security in general.
The situation in Sinai is relatively stable, and people have adapted to major incidents in much the same way as their grandparents adapted to the 1956 and 1967 wars. Market movement is normal, according to the federation. There has been no increase in demand for commodities, indicating there is no great fear of what may happen in the coming days. The federation insists that the situation is normal and demand, even for basic commodities, is unaffected. All goods are available in the governorate.
It is obvious that the terrorists want to hit Egypt sharply and to harm its stability, security, tourism, investment and the economy in general, says the head of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Ahmed al-Wakil. He is calling on the need to unify the efforts of all Egyptians, and in the meantime to confront such wicked acts and to ensure Egypt is a safe place.
“Such acts will never restrain our efforts, and we must stand up to the work of such evil hands and take more steps towards development and realising the dreams and aspirations for which the people carried out the 25 January and 30 June revolutions,” he said.
“For a year now we have been calling for a legislative and procedural revolution in the economy to ensure the enhancement of the national economy and attract more investments and develop the country.” Wakil said the current situation required a legislative revolution in all aspects in such a way as to meet present and future aspirations.
