Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad met on Monday with Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, the Secretary General of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), to discuss ways of joint cooperation during the coming period and support the organization’s effective participation in the road from COP27 to COP28 summit. The meeting also discussed Egypt’s hosting of the organization’s technical support unit for the African initiative for adaptation, and ways to support it in the future. This came in the presence of Mohamed Hegazy, the Director of the Regional Office of the organisation in North Africa, and Soha Taher, the Head of the Central Administration for International Cooperation. Fouad and Mbassi also discussed cooperation in hosting the organization’s regional headquarters in Egypt for the technical support unit for the African Adaptation Initiative. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

Despite the growing trend of solo travel, women still face unique challenges when venturing abroad on their own. Here are the five safest countries as ranked by solo women travelers:1-SloveniaSlovenia ranked at the top of the WPS Index for Central and Eastern Europe, with 85 percent of women feeling safe there according to the index. Rebecca Hansen saw this firsthand when she moved to Rwanda from Denmark in 2019, and found it very safe to travel on her own. The UAE also topped the WPS Index 2021. Dubai, in particular, has been ranked as the safest city for solo travelers based on an index by travel insurance company InsureMy Trip.

Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines or computer systems. A Magnet report on the impact of artificial intelligence on the economies of the Middle East and North Africa region said that India and China are leading the way with regard to artificial intelligence, while the current situation in the Middle East and North Africa is still in its infancy. According to Google's“The Future of Artificial Intelligence in the Middle East and North Africa” report, it is estimated that the Middle East and North Africa region will collect $320bn by 2030 in value added by AI. Over the past few years, countries in the Middle East and North Africa have published their strategies for artificial intelligence. According to McKinsey, between now and 2030, 45% of current businesses in the Middle East will likely be automated.

The committee stems from the consultative meeting of the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, which was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on April 14, to discuss ways to promote joint Arab action. Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the spokesperson, said that the committee is scheduled to discuss ways to deal with the Syrian crisis, including strengthening the solidarity of Arab countries with the brotherly Syrian people in overcoming their plight. For his part, the spokesman of the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, Sinan Majali, said that the meeting comes as a complement to the consultative meeting of the GCC, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, hosted by Saudi Arabia. He added that the meeting comes to build on the contacts made by these countries with the Syrian government and in the context of their proposals, and the Jordanian initiative to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis. The Jeddah meeting stressed that a political solution is the only solution to the Syrian crisis, and the importance of having an Arab leadership role in the efforts to end the crisis, developing the necessary mechanisms for this role, and intensifying consultation among Arab countries to ensure the success of these efforts.

Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sweilam, held a meeting with the leaders of the ministry to follow up on the current preparations for the period of maximum water needs in the summer season, and the procedures for following up the levels and disposals of the network of canals and drains in the various governorates. During the meeting, Sweilam reviewed the results of the ministry’s committees’ work of purifying canals in many governorates. The minister stressed the speedy completion of the remainder of the work of purification of canals and drains, and that the directors of the irrigation department in all governorates tighten control over the quality of purification of canals, and continue to monitor levels, disposals, and the condition of embankments in canals and drains, and reassurance of the ability of these waterways to pass the required water disposals to ensure that all water needs are met during the next maximum needs period. He also ordered that the general directors of irrigation in all governorates must take the necessary measures to avoid unfair purification of canal embankments and to ensure that the equipment used by contractors in the purification work is appropriate in a way that does not cause an unjust purification of canal embankments. Moreover, Sweilam stressed the necessity of continuing coordination between irrigation, drainage and mechanics directorates and continuing to raise the level of readiness among all the ministry’s agencies, and activating emergency rooms in all governorates, to ensure the provision of water needs for all beneficiaries and the readiness of lifting stations and mobile emergency units to ensure safe levels for canals and drains.

Egyptian Minister of Transport Kamel Al-Wazir witnessed the signing of construction contract for two multi-purpose ships MPC14K between Alkahera Company for Ferries and Maritime Transport (KCFMT), affiliated to the Ministry of Transport, and Korean Daesun Shipbuilding and Engineering, in the presence of Seok Lee, the commercial attache of the South Korean embassy in Egypt. The contract was signed by Wael Mohamed El Khaleq, Chairperson and Managing Director of KCFMT, and Deputy Chairperson of Daesun Sung-Geun Lee. The Minister of Transport stated that this signature includes KCFMT cooperating with the DAESUN Shipbuilding to build 2 multi-purpose ships in accordance with the best international specifications in the shipbuilding industry. The capacity of the holds is 15,800 m3, a tonnage of 14,000 tonnes, a speed of 14 knots, a container load of 709 containers. The number of commercial ships in the National Navigation Company reached 13 ships (12 bulk ships – 1 container ship).

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a statement on Saturday that the government aims to collect $2bn from the government offering programme before the end of next June. Madbouly explained that the sovereign fund is negotiating with investment agencies to implement the offering programme, while CBE is preparing the banks to be offered. Yasser El-Masry, managing director of the Arab African International Securities (AAIS), said that the market is ready to start implementing the government offering programme. For his part, Mohamed Farouk, Chairman of Global Invest, said that the most important thing is the actual start of implementation to reassure investors about the seriousness of the offering programme. It should include the timing of each offering of the programme companies, especially that the talk about the offering programme started in 2016 until now.

El Said Darwish & Partners, a leading law firm in Egypt, and Ibrahim & Partners, a leading Band 1 law firm in the UAE, announced a strategic association strengthening their regional footprint. The collaboration brings together two dynamic and innovative legal practitioners with a shared vision of providing top-notch legal services to clients in the MENA region. With a deep-rooted and extensive knowledge of the local legal system, El Said Darwish & Partners offers clients a unique perspective on doing business in Egypt.Building on its strong presence in the UAE and thorough understanding of the local business environment, Ibrahim & Partners is well positioned to advise clients on a wide range of legal issues. Mohamed Darwish, Founding Partner said:“With cumulative investments of almost $22bn, the UAE is the largest investor in Egypt. We are thrilled to partner with Ibrahim & Partners, providing a comprehensive integrated legal advisory platform that supports these booming bilateral ties.”Ibrahim El Said, Founding Partner emphasized the importance of this association as “a pivotal step that strengthens our ambitions towards shaping a pan-regional legal ecosystem providing services that reflect an evolving business landscape.”Ahmed Ibrahim, Managing Partner of Ibrahim & Partners, said: “We are excited to collaborate with El Said Darwish & Partners, highly respected legal professionals, our association will allow us to better serve our clients in the region by combining our strengths and expertise in a way that benefits all parties involved.”The association between El Said Darwish & Partners and Ibrahim & Partners underscores the growing synergies between Egypt and the UAE and creates a powerful platform for comprehensive legal advisory spanning arbitration, banking, capital market, construction, contracts, commercial agencies and franchises, corporate and M&A, employment, energy and infrastructure, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, sports law, taxation, and tourism.

The General Division for Gold and Jewelry at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) announced an initiative to lower making charges for gold jewelry during May in cooperation with workshops and retail shops. The head of the division Hani Milad said during a press conference on Sunday that this initiative aims to provide lower prices for customers. Milad explained that this move aims to strike a balance between supply and demand locally. Gold prices are affected by international stock exchanges, the US dollar exchange rate, and supply and demand factors, which have become the main indicator in pricing gold in the local market now, he said. The difference between the buying and selling prices has become very small, he said, adding that his division is not a pricing entity.

The prequalification was carried out through the technical assistance of the Ministry of Finance’s Public-Private Partnership Central Unit, within the first phase of Egypt’s water desalination program. Prequalified consortia are classified into four categories based on previous experience in various desalination projects regionally and globally. Egypt’s water desalination program entails the launch of several projects possessing a total capacity of 8.85 million m3/day by 2050. The program equally targets to achieve technology transfer and localization of the manufacturing of crucial desalination components. TSFE is part of a special committee formed by a decree issued by the prime minister of Egypt, and that comprises various stakeholders in Egypt’s water desalination program, as it oversees the whole pre-qualification and the tender processes.

The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE), with technical assistance from Ministry of Finance’s PPP Central Unit, has prequalified 17 consortia to bid for the development of a number of seawater desalination plants powered by renewable energy sources in different locations across Egypt under the First Phase of Egypt’s water desalination programme. Prequalified consortia are classified into four categories based on previous experience in various desalination projects regionally & globally (list of prequalified consortiums is included at the end of this release). Egypt’s water desalination programme entails the launch of several projects covering a total planned capacity of 8.85 million m3/day by 2050 of which 3.35 million m3/day is planned by 2025 as the (“First Phase”). TSFE is part of a special committee formed through a decree issued by the Prime Minister of Egypt, comprised of the various stakeholders in Egypt’s water desalination program. The committee oversees the whole pre-qualification and the tender processes to ensure progression of process at fast pace through public tenders in light of private sector and financing institutions expectations.

CAIRO - 1 May 2023: The Egyptian parliament has initially approved on Monday, new amendments to the Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) law issued in 1976, to eliminate executional challenges. The new amendments assign the authority to desalinate water by using nuclear power, while also acknowledging the authority as the sole owner and operator of all nuclear power plants across Egypt. Furthermore, suppliers are exempted from all taxes and fees required for fulfilling their obligations in accordance with the contracts signed with the NPPA. Similar exemptions have been previously granted to subcontractors, as it is legally and commercially recognized that supplies fall within the contracting business. The nuclear power plants authority (NPPA) law issued in 1976 stipulated the establishment of a national authority responsible for: building nuclear power plants to generate electricity within the framework of the state’s general plan, conducting the necessary research and studies for projects to establish nuclear power plants, and laying the essential foundations for the specifications of their construction

Madbouly started his visit by inspecting the LG – Egypt factory. He was accompanied by Assem El-Gazzar, Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities; Hossam Haiba, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones; Billy Kim, General Manager of LG Egypt; and LG Egypt Vice President Alaa Omar. The Prime Minister confirmed that his visit to a number of factories comes within the framework of the Egyptian state’s interest in supporting and encouraging the private sector. LG Egypt’s investments amounted to $300m for producing televisions, washing machine, refrigerator, LG Egypt President Alaa Omar has said. Omar added that LG’s production volume reaches approximately 1.5m televisions, which are produced on three production lines, as well as about 500,000 washing machines produced on one production line.

Banks operating in the Egyptian market are waiting for the signal from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to include the tourism sector in the initiative to support industry, which would increase its value to EGP 160bn. Last January, the Cabinet approved the general framework of the initiative to support the industrial and agricultural sectors. It aims to reduce the interest rate on loans provided to the two sectors, within the framework of continuous support for them and their activities. He pointed out that the state treasury will bear more than EGP 13bn annually and the interest rate difference. In addition to that, the instructions of CBE specified the interest rate considered the basis for calculating the compensation of banks for the interest rate difference at the credit and discount rate of decreasing 1%.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry headed on Sunday evening to the Jordanian capital Amman to participate in a meeting of the committee formed by Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq on Syria. The committee stems from the consultative meeting of the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, which was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on April 14, to discuss ways to promote joint Arab action. Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the spokesperson, said that the committee is scheduled to discuss ways to deal with the Syrian crisis, including strengthening the solidarity of Arab countries with the brotherly Syrian people in overcoming their plight. For his part, the spokesman of the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, Sinan Majali, said that the meeting comes as a complement to the consultative meeting of the GCC, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, hosted by Saudi Arabia. He added that the meeting comes to build on the contacts made by these countries with the Syrian government and in the context of their proposals, and the Jordanian initiative to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis.