A man walks past a currency exchange shop displaying a giant US dollars banknote in downtown Cairo on November 3, 2016. (AFP/Xinhua)

CAIRO, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on Thursday that the Egyptian pound's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar is not fair, promising a fairer rate in the coming months.

"This will not last for a long time," Sisi said on state TV. "It is not a fair rate and a balance will happen in few months."

Egypt has been facing a tough economic recession in the last five years as a result of political turmoil and security issues, amid rising budget deficit, ailing tourism industry, and a drop in foreign currency reserves as well as local and foreign investment.

Egypt recently devaluated its local currency; its exchange rate against the U.S. dollar moved from 8.85 pounds to between 15 or 17 pounds on the official market.

The devaluation was encouraged by the International Monetary Fund, which loaned Egypt 2.75 billion dollars last month as the first instalment of a 12 billion dollar loan to finance the country's three-year economic reform program.