Egypt’s Prime Minster, Sherif Ismail, headed a meeting yesterday to discuss and asses FX needs of pharmaceutical producers and importers, which included the Minster of Health, Deputy Head of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), and a number of executives from pharmaceutical companies. The Prime Minster highlighted the importance of setting an import plan, in coordination with the CBE, that guarantees securing Letters of Credit (LCs) that cover pharmaceutical’s import needs, which are estimated at USD2.6bn/annum, according to Cabinet spokesperson, Hossam Kawish. Prime Minster also called for forming a committee that comprises all the related parties, to meet monthly and ensure that producers’ needs are met, where the Prime Minster stressed the importance of having producers operating at full capacity to meet Egypt's pharmaceutical needs. (Al Alam Al Youm)