The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has denied reports of plans to accept Russian rubles for payments in the country starting at the end of September, TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a CBE official.
“In the meantime it is impossible to use the Russian ruble in Egypt and we don’t know about specific plans to introduce it into circulation”, the official said.
On Monday, the RIA Novosti news agency quoted tour operator Tez Tour as saying the Russian ruble might be included in a list of currencies for payments in Egypt as early as late September in a bid to boost tourism in the North African country.
Egypt is one of the most popular destinations for Russians in the autumn-winter season, with the number of tourists reaching one million in the last quarter of 2021.
This comes as EU countries tighten travel rules for Russians over the conflict in Ukraine. According to the Russian Tour Operators Association, tourist flows to Europe plunged by 90-95% in the 2022 summer season compared to 2019.
Russia and Egypt have long been considering switching to local currencies in trade.
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