President Sisi tells Egyptians to accept that the price of progress and development may be hunger

"Do not let your dream be merely a meal."

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi sparked controversy after telling Egyptians during a conference on Saturday that they should accept hunger and deprivation if that is the cost of progress, prosperity and development.

Egypt's 104 million citizens are already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis with the poverty rate close to 30 percent according to government statistics, with the true figure expected to be higher. Egypt's economy has come under pressure over the past year with the Egyptian pound tumbling and inflation soaring.

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