On a clear winter’s day earlier this year, those living on the vast Egyptian headland of Ras El-Hekma who looked up from the dun-colored scrub would have seen an aircraft circling the sky. Far above, locals were told, top United Arab Emirates officials were taking a special interest in one of the Mediterranean coast’s last great wildernesses.
Weeks later, on Feb. 23, Egypt’s premier and the UAE’s investment minister stood before TV cameras at the inking of a $35 billion deal that includes turning that same location into the next big thing in global tourism. Billed as the largest foreign investment in Egypt’s history, it likely saved the ravaged economy and may have averted another major crisis in the Middle East.
The UAE’s deliberations before deciding to invest — as relayed by more than a dozen diplomats, officials and other insiders — show how the Gulf power is using its deep pockets to turn a buck while building its political sway. Deploying a sum equivalent to 7% of its gross domestic product, the UAE is displaying a combination of financial strength with geo-strategic aims that demonstrates a push for a key role in shaping events in the region and beyond.
The investment should also be seen as a signal of intent at a time when Abu Dhabi is jockeying for influence with Gulf powers Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with US influence waning as the Israel-Hamas war rages presenting new challenges in a part of the globe key to energy production and supply lines.
The jury’s out on how fruitful the UAE’s gambit will be. But for Egypt, historically the Arab world’s beating heart and its most populous country of some 105 million people, the benefits were immediate. Within days of Abu Dhabi depositing cash, authorities devalued the pound and months-long International Monetary Fund talks ended with an $8 billion loan deal. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said he’d balked at touching the currency until then for reasons of “national security.”
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