Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi says revenues from the Suez Canal have “decreased by 40 to 50 percent” so far this year due to attacks on shipping by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Times of Israel reported.
The canal is one of Egypt’s main sources of foreign currency, with Cairo gripped by a severe financial crisis.
The Houthi attacks, which the group says are targeted at vessels with links to Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip, have caused many major shipping firms to suspend passage through the Red Sea, which usually carries around 12 percent of global trade.
Over the past decade, the Hungarian government has effectively pursued a policy of Eastern Opening, resulting in a significant increase in investments, primarily from Asia. The Middle East is also becoming increasingly significant for Hungary. Recently, Dubai billionaire Khalaf Al Habtoor granted an interview to the Hungarian private television channel ATV, in which he commended the strategy adopted by the Hungarian government and discussed his forthcoming investments in Hungary.
China's manufacturing activity swung back to growth in October as an expansion in new orders led to a pick-up in production growth, signalling an improvement in the sector at the start of the final quarter, a private-sector survey showed on Friday, according to Reuters.
Hungary's earlier vote could now pay off: Hungary was one of the countries that did not support punitive tariffs against Chinese electric cars.