Zaazou said that the sides were working on a mechanism of mutual settlements to abandon the U.S. dollar as a basic currency unit. Such settlements, in his words, might be made via the two countries’ Central Banks.
At the initial stage, the rouble would be used to pay for tourist vouchers and travel companies’ fees. Further on, he said, these funds might be used by Cairo to pay for imports from Russia.
Egypt is currently taking all possible measures to keep the tourist flow from Russia from falling in conditions of the financial crisis. In 2014, about three million Russians visited Egypt, but the overall positive situation was marred in December, when the number of Russian vacationers in Egypt nearly halved following the rouble’s slide.
In a bid to encourage tourism from Russia, Egypt cancelled visa fees for Russian tourists for a term of four months - from January 15 to April 30. Tourists who will buy package tours to the Red Sea resorts will not have to pay a fee of 25 U.S. dollars per capita.
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