CAIRO, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on Saturday that the government's decision to liberalize the exchange rate came after securing a large amount of U.S. dollars.

There are large cash flows that will support the currency exchange market in Egypt, Sisi said during a televised educational seminar.

He noted that around 45-50 billion dollars in new financing have been injected through the multibillion-dollar Ras Al-Hekma development investment deal with the United Arab Emirates, an eight-billion-dollar loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund and agreements with the European Union.

"Things have begun to improve," Sisi said, adding that the cash available in Egypt enabled the government to make a flexible exchange rate for the local currency.

On Wednesday, the Central Bank of Egypt raised its interest rates by 600 basis points and said it would allow the exchange rate to be determined by the market.

Following the move, the value of the Egyptian pound declined by about 60.1 percent, reaching 49.5 pounds against the U.S. dollar, bringing it almost in line with the rate in the black market.

Over the past two years, the shortage of greenbacks in Egypt has led to the devaluation of the local currency and the emergence of the parallel market in the country, plunging Egypt into one of its worst economic crises.

The crisis was deepened after the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out late last year, impacting the country's tourism and halving its revenues from the Suez Canal. Enditem

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