Russia adds Egyptian pound and UAE dirham to exchange rate list

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Russia’s central bank has added nine currencies to its list of exchange rates against the ruble, including the UAE dirham, Qatari riyal and Egyptian pound (EGP), from January 18, Ahram Online reported.

The other six are Thai baht, Vietnamese dong, Serbian dinar, New Zealand dollar, Georgian lari and Indonesian rupiah, the news portal said, citing a notification on Russia’s central bank.

According to the Russian central bank’s website, the official exchange rate between the Egyptian pound and the Russian ruble is EGP10 to 23.3 rubles.

Russia and Egypt have been conducting trade dealings in their local currencies since September following Western sanctions on Moscow due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia is negotiating with the Central Bank of Egypt to approve its Mir payment cards in the country to allow it to make overseas payments, Russian Ambassador to Cairo Georgy Borisenko said in September.

The approval will increase Russian tourism to Egypt, Borisenko noted.

Russian tourism is a significant source of revenue for Egypt, with around 700,000 Russian tourists visiting the country in 2021, the newspaper said.

On the other side, the Egyptian pound has fallen nearly 100 percent of its rate of EGP15.78 against the US dollar before its initial devaluation in March 2022.