Egypt’s military given green light to own pharmaceutical company

Egypt’s military has been granted the right to open a licensed pharmaceutical company in a decree published by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail on Sunday. “The National Agency for Military Production is permitted to partake in the founding of a company called the Egyptian National Company for Pharmaceuticals,” the decree declared.

Egypt has suffered from a drug shortage for months with the government raising prices of a number of medicines in January following months of negotiations with pharmaceutical companies affected by dollar shortages and the weakened currency. The fall of the Egyptian pound and the foreign currency crunch have made it difficult for local pharmaceutical companies to import the ingredients needed to make the medicines upon which millions of poor Egyptians rely.

The military has often been called upon by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to assist in major infrastructure projects and the distribution of subsidised commodities to help prevent price rises.

The economic weight of the army has long been a topic of debate in Egypt. It owns companies which produce many items, from bottled water to macaroni and many things in-between. According to Sisi, the military’s economic activity accounts for as little as two per cent of the country’s output, dismissing suggestions that the military could control as much as half of the economy.