Egyptian Foreign Ministry revealed on Monday the closure of four embassies and the withdrawal of 40 diplomatic officials, in implementation of a governmental austerity plan.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid explained that the government’s austerity plan included withdrawing 20 administrative attachés and 20 diplomatic members. Abu Zeid said in a statement that a number of professionals and support services in Egypt’s foreign missions were reduced, adding that Consulates in Lagos, Zanzibar and Geneva, as well as the embassy in Bangui, have been closed.

In addition, there had been restrictions limiting equipment purchases for diplomatic missions abroad. He added that there are no more than 500 Egyptian diplomats in 129 countries. Egypt’s Cabinet spokesman Hossam Kaweesh said in a statement in 19 October that the ministerial economic committee (comprising the relevant ministries of economic and financial affairs) decided, during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, to reduce the ministries’ external representation in diplomatic missions by 50 per cent.

Egypt has been suffering a severe shortage in the foreign currency as a result of the decline in tourism revenues, foreign investment, exports and Egyptian remittances from abroad.