Egyptian economy and security big challenges for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

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President Fattah al-Sisi won a landslide victory in Egypt’s presidential election. Now he must get down to work. So what will be his priorities and what do his supporters expect of him?

Daleen Hassan spoke to our correspondent in Cairo, Mohammed Sheikhibrahim, to look ahead to life in Egypt under the new president.

Daleen Hassan, euronews: “Can you describe the atmosphere in Cairo after the official announcement of the winner in the presidential race?”

Mohammed Sheikhibrahim: “The atmosphere here in Egypt is all about the celebrations by Al-Sisi supporters. They have gathered in the public squares here in the city to celebrate the result of the presidential election.

“At the same time there is a huge security presence here in Cairo. There are dozens of tanks, Egyptian army and police officers in the streets and they have been here since early morning to secure the public areas. The operation was mounted in anticipation of any security breaches which may disrupt the festivities.”

euronews: “What are the main challenges faced by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the next presidential term?”

Mohammed Sheikhibrahim: “There are two key challenges which are facing the new president. They are security and the economy.

“There is a major concern about the security issue in Egypt especially with daily demonstrations by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which are prohibited.”

“The security issue is considered to be a main concern in Egypt, and therefore everybody here is waiting to see how the President will deal with this particular challenge.”

“In terms of the economy, we know that Egypt is suffering from an unprecedented economic crisis, there is a huge deficit of tens of billions of Egyptian pounds. Two days ago also there was a sharp fall in the Egyptian Stock Exchange so the economic challenge is a really difficult one.”

“So Egyptians are waiting to see how the new president will deal with the outstanding economic issues, to improve the situation and bring investment and life to the tourism sector which was hit badly by the events in the country three years ago.”

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