CAIRO - 29 December 2022: The Red Sea Governorate, in coordination with the Upper Egypt Development Authority, is racing against time to complete the preparation of the second phase of the cultivation of the jojoba plant northwest of Hurghada. The phase includes cultivating an area of 2000 acres of the jojoba plant, which is called the "Green Gold," where the preparation of cultivation and internal roads for the second phase is underway, which includes 1,000 acres. The cultivation of the jojoba plant depends on wastewater after desalination as irrigation resource, where it is processed to be suitable for cultivation. The wastewater treatment plant in Hurghada extracts large amounts of water, part of which is used in the cultivation of the jojoba plant in the desert of Hurghada. Also, 25,000 cubic meters per day of treated wastewater will be used, and it increases and decreases according to the needs of the project.

Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sweilam met with the agriculture, irrigation and water resources committee in the Senate on Wednesday. He also reviewed the position of the transformation of modern irrigation systems, referring to the ministry’s vision towards raising the efficiency of water use, maximising the return from the water unit, and working to increase crop productivity, explaining that the modern irrigation file in Egypt is currently being studied scientifically within the framework of an integrated system. He further explained that modern irrigation is part of the integrated irrigation system, thus, its effects must be studied in all dimensions while examining the various alternatives used globally in the field of irrigation, and the possibility of using these systems in Egypt, taking into account all water, environmental, economic, social and other dimensions. Moreover, Sweilam pointed out that 1,400 facilities were implemented to protect coasts, agricultural lands, and groundwater against torrential rains during the past years. The ministry has also prepared atlases of torrential rains in the governorates prone to torrential rains while ensuring updating these atlases and increasing the absorptive capacity of some artificial lakes according to updated studies.

CAIRO - 29 December 2022: The Egyptian Armed Forces released a press statement Thursday revealing that the Border Guard Force, the Third Army, and police forces identified and eliminated 160 cannabis farms spanning over 173 feddans. That is in addition to the confiscation of 34 tons of dry bango plants; 52 tons of ground bango plants; 100 kilograms of bango seeds; 1,150 kilograms of cannabis seeds; 2,200 kilograms of hydro; 140 kilograms of minced hash; 500 kilograms of hash powder; and 41 bullets. The Egyptian Armed Forces’ Border Guard thwarted in July the smuggling of tons of illegal drugs as well as two tons of urea used to manufacture explosive devices. During the periodic inspections of vehicles at tunnels and border crossings, the Border Guard forces managed to seize two tons of hashish essence and two tons of cannabis, 305 kilograms of hydro drug, and 37 kilograms of opium. This is in addition seizing three rifles, 1,400 bullets, a number of satellite communication devices, three devices for detecting metals, and 32 electric machines.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli unveiled on Thursday the approval of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi of the State Ownership Policy Document that seeks to outline the State’s relation with the private sector in different economic sectors and enhance the private sector’s participation in development projects. During the cabinet’s weekly meeting at the New Administrative Capital, Madbouli said the government will put the document into force immediately. The premier began the meeting by extending his heartfelt greeting to Sisi as well as all members of the government over the New Year. He also wished a merry Christmas to Christians both inside and outside Egypt. He also lauded the well organization of the “Able to differ” celebration dedicated to children with special needs, saying the government is exerting utmost efforts to increase their engagement in society.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi witnessed on Wednesday the launch of the fourth edition of “Differently-Abled” celebration for people of determination and special abilities at Al Manara International Conference Center (AMICC). The celebration, held under the slogan of “We have a place”, began with recitation of verses of Holy Quran by differently abled Egyptian youth Omar Ashraf. Upon his arrival at the venue’s celebration, President Sisi was received by Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Minister of Defense and Military Production General Mohamed Zaki, Speaker of the House of Representatives Hanafi el-Gebali, Al Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayyeb along with a host of ministers and senior state officials.

CAIRO - 29 December 2022: The new Egyptian labor law is one of the most important legislations that workers in the private sector are awaiting to come to light, because of the great gains it brings to achieve job security for them. Among the advantages of the new draft law is the abolition of arbitrary dismissal, or which is known as "Form 6", the speedy settlement of labor disputes, and the creation of an attractive climate for investment. The Manpower Committee in the House of Representatives, headed by Representative Adel Abdel Fadil Ayyad, approved, during its meeting last Monday evening, the draft labor law submitted by the government, so that this would be the first meeting to discuss the draft law submitted by the government to issue the labor law, after the committee held hearings. The new draft law addresses the shortcomings contained in the current Labor Law promulgated by Law No. (12) of 2003, applies the concept of constitutional texts, is in line with the constitutional principles decided by the Supreme Constitutional Court, and is based on what jurisprudence has established and what is stipulated in the International Labor Organization conventions.

Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sewilam received a report from the Chairman of the Egyptian General Authority for Drainage Projects, Mohamed Salih, to review the position of drainage projects nationwide. Sewilam stated that the Drainage Authority carries out periodic cleansing and weeding of open public drains at lengths of about 22,000 km for 4,444 drains to preserve the water sector of the drains. Concerning covered drainage projects, Sewilam announced the implementation of covered drainage networks for 6 million feddan in Lower and Upper Egypt, in addition to the replacement and renewal of the drainage network in the areas where the network’s lifespan has ended. The authority’s strategy aims to establish agricultural drainage networks in all the old lands according to the studies that are carried out in this regard as well. It also aims to replace and renew the drainage networks in the areas that have expired.

CAIRO - 28 December 2022: Egypt seeks to localize green industries, based on the outputs and gains of the climate summit that Egypt hosted last month, as it came out with recommendations for implementing an integrated program to convert waste into electric energy, including the waste-to-electricity plant project in Abu Rawash. Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Egyptian Minister of Environment confirmed that the project for converting waste into electric energy in Abu Rawash is carried out in coordination between 4 ministries, including Environment, Local Development, Electricity and Military Production, and is being established in Abu Rawash, Giza Governorate, on an area of approximately 12 acres. The Minister of the Environment stated that the waste-to-electricity plant project in Abu Rawash aims to treat 1,200 tons per day of municipal solid waste to produce 30 megawatt-hours, and to achieve an economic return from the waste recycling process. Al-Arabi indicated that the waste-to-electricity plant project in Abu Rawash helps reduce the amount of waste that is buried in sanitary landfills, in addition to providing land areas that are allocated for the establishment of sanitary landfills, and avoid accumulations within the governorates, which cause environmental damage and waste. Abu Sunna indicated that the Giza Governorate is currently working on completing the necessary licenses for the land on which the project will be built.

CAIRO - 28 December 2022: Egypt's natural and liquefied gas exports have seen an increase reached, $7.8 billion, which is equivalent to 160 billion pounds, during the period (January-October 2022), ranking Egypt the first in the Arab world. This was stated in a government memorandum submitted to the Energy and Environment Committee in the House of Representatives, and also referred to the re-starting of the Damietta liquefaction gas plant and the resumption of exporting liquefied natural gas from it after a hiatus that lasted for 8 years. The memo further noted that Egypt was ranked as the country that achieved the most growth in the volume of natural gas exports during the third quarter of 2021. In his memorandum, the Minister of Petroleum, Eng. Tariq Al-Mulla, stated that natural and liquefied gas was exported during the first ten months of 2022, at a rate of about 200% of the value of what was exported during 2021 due to the increase in international prices of liquefied gas.

A number of procedures and reform policies were adopted in the energy sector, as part of a comprehensive strategy that includes securing supplies and good governance. The ministry has also taken concrete steps to totally reverse power cuts and attain electricity surplus. During 2022, the electricity sector also adopted several executive steps to attain sustainability of renewable energy and energy sector. The electricity sector also adopted a strategy aiming to diversify energy sources, expand the use of renewable energy and rationalize the use of traditional energy sources within the National Renewable Energy Strategy. Such strategy primarily aims to increase renewable energy by 40 percent in 2035.

Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar received a certificate from the Guinness Book of Records for recording the largest gathering to educate 523 children living with diabetes type 1. It also includes programmes for continuous measurements and follow-up, through closed-circuit television and posters in clinics, in addition to health education programs for school students. The Egyptian Health Ministry spokesperson pointed out that 50,000 children have been registered within the health care program for children with diabetes for EGP 615m. Egypt has established 30 model centres for diabetic children to provide awareness, diagnosis and treatment services. These centres include all specialities related to diabetes such as “ophthalmology, orthopaedics, surgery, kidneys” in addition to nutritionists to reduce complications, in addition to providing educational services, health, and psychological support.

CAIRO - 27 December 2022: Egypt's Law for the Protection and Development of Lakes and Fisheries aims to promote fish wealth and maximize its utilization, through a new package of facilitated procedures and controls, while at the same time aim to preserve this vital resource. The legislation included controls and requirements for fishing places, driving the boat, and it included the establishment of an agency for the protection and development of lakes and fish wealth that undertakes the development of general policy, exploitation and development of lakes to protect fish wealth. The law prohibits foreign fishing boats from fishing in the Egyptian regional or economic waters, provided that they face a penalty in accordance with Article stipulated in Law No. In all cases, the boats, fish, birds, and fishing gear used shall be seized, and the seized items or their price shall be confiscated. The law only allows only, driving a fishing boat, for those who hold a certificate proving the boat's suitability for fishing in marine waters.

South Korean Ambassador Hong Jin-wook met Monday with Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat to exchange opinions regarding the bilateral development cooperation efforts this year and ways to strengthen ties in the future. He expressed his satisfaction on successful bilateral development cooperation because it not only helps to boost the economic development of Egypt but also contributes to improving the quality of Egyptian people’s lives. He also expressed his hope to expand bilateral cooperation to future-oriented fields such as renewable energy, space and aviation in the future. Minister Al-Mashat expressed her gratitude for the Korean government’s tireless efforts in strengthening bilateral cooperation including designating Egypt as an ODA priority partner country. Both sides agreed to explore more development cooperation projects in various fields.

Gold prices in Egypt witnessed unprecedented spikes several times after the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, reaching record-high levels. Besides, the CBE began to realise the issue of speculations in gold export. Besides, encouraging the export of gold jewellery, for example, through international exhibitions, as well as relieving pressure on gold ore and directing the demand for gold jewellery by relinquishing part of the processing cost. Furthermore, he suggested that authorities should continue monitoring gold ore export. He pointed out that the lack of dollar liquidity, and its circulation near its lowest levels in six months, was a major catalyst for the hikes in gold prices.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he was relying on India’s help to implement a “peace formula” during a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The call comes as New Delhi seeks to boost trade ties with Moscow after becoming one of the largest purchasers of Russian oil — defying Western sanctions and providing a vital financial lifeline to Russian President Vladimir Putin as the Kremlin wages an unprovoked war against its neighbor. “I announced the peace formula and now I count on India’s participation in its implementation,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter. Zelensky presented a 10-point peace formula to world leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November. India assumed the G20 presidency this month, and will hold it until next year.