Events in the Red Sea and regional challenges cost Egypt around $7 billion in revenues from the Suez Canal in 2024, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Thursday.
Egypt lost more than 60 per cent of the canal's revenues in 2024 compared with 2023, Sisi added in his statement, without going into details on the events.
Houthi fighters in Yemen have carried out nearly 100 attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea since November in support of Palestinian terror group Hamas in Israel's more than year-old war in Gaza and the region as it defends itself from terror groups and seeks the return of numerous hostages from the October 7, 2023 attacks.
The attacks have forced shipping firms to divert vessels from the Suez Canal to longer routes around Africa, disrupting global trade by delaying deliveries and sending costs higher.
(Reporting by Mohamed Hendawy; Writing by Jana Choukeir; Editing by Andrew Heavens)