President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met on Thursday with Brendan Bechtel, the chief executive officer of Bechtel Group, Inc. (​Bechtel)- press photoCAIRO – 8 July 2021: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met on Thursday with Brendan Bechtel, the chief executive officer of Bechtel Group, Inc. (Bechtel), said Egyptian Presidency announced in a statement. At the meeting, President Sisi highlighted the depth of the cooperation and strategic partnership relations between Egypt and the United States in all fields, the statement said, adding that President Sisi also expressed Egypt’s keenness to strengthen those relations in a way that contributes to achieving common development goals. President Sisi has been updated on the Bechtel investments and protects in Egypt, besides the details of a national project of establishing a petrochemical complex in the economic zone of the Suez Canal Corridor in partnership between the Egyptian petroleum sector and Bechtel Inc., with about 7.5 billion dollars in investments. The President also directed to continue coordination and cooperation with Bechtel with the aim of developing its activities in Egypt, especially in the fields of energy and transportation. The Bechtel CEO praised Egypt’s ambitious vision to achieve comprehensive economic development, stressing that Egypt comes on the top of countries when it comes to the American investments in the region.

CAIRO – 8 July 2021: “Egypt was one of the few countries that recorded during the crisis an economic growth of about 3.57 percent during 2019/2020,” Minister of Trade and Industry, Nevine Gamea, said. Gamea explained in a statement, Thursday, that the industrial sector is the locomotive of economic growth in Egypt and contributed about 17.1 percent to the GDP in 2019/2020, compared to about 16.4 percent in the previous year, and thus became the largest contributor to Egyptian economic growth, compared to other economic sectors. She added that the manufacturing sector achieved a positive growth rate during 2019/2020 of about 1.4 percent, although it was less than what it achieved in the previous year, which recorded 2.8 percent, but remained positive in the year of the pandemic as a reflection of the measures taken to strengthen the industrial sector during the crisis. "The program targets the food industries, the pharmaceutical industries and medical supplies, the textile and ready-made garments industries, and the engineering industries that include cars and household appliances,” she continued. The minister indicated that work is underway on legislative, procedural and digital development axes in order to reduce the time and cost of export and import in order to strengthen the industrial and trade sectors.

This came during El-Said’s meetings and activities to revitalize Egypt's role in the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) and boost cooperation between Egypt and the bank. During those meetings, El-Said reviewed the development experience of Egypt and the implementation of the first phase of the national program for economic and social reforms. El-Said held the first meeting with Engineer Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), one of the institutions of the IsDB, to discuss collaboration between Egypt and the corporation. In early July, Dr. Hala El-Said met with Mrs. Mai Babiker Al-Taher, Director of the Regional Office of the Islamic Development Bank in Cairo at the Ministry of Planning headquarters. El-Said affirmed her pride in Egypt’s contribution to the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), which amounts to about $25 million.

In preparation for its imminent opening, the work team at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square is completing the final preparations for the second outlet to sell archaeological replicas, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement. It will be the second from the Kunooz company after the first was opened in April at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat. He added the first archaeological replicas factory was established in Egypt and the Middle East in cooperation with the Kunooz company. The factory was inaugurated by the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities in March. The archaeological replicas factory was opened in March to be the first factory for archaeological replicas in Egypt and the Middle East.

CAIRO – 8 July 2021: Russia lifted the ban on charter flights to Egypt as per a decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, TASS news agency reported. The charter flights had been suspended for six years, after a Russian passenger plane crashed in Sinai in October 2015, killing 224 people onboard. In April 2021, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his Russian counterpart agreed in a phone call on to fully resume flights between the two countries, especially to the coastal cities of Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh, after six years of hiatus to these touristic destinations. In January 2018, Russia decided to resume the flights to Egypt’s Cairo International Airport after Egypt has been implementing new, tighter security measures at all of its airports to meet the Russian demands necessary for the resumption of flights.

CAIRO – 10 June 2021: The annual core inflation rate recorded 3.8 percent in June 2021, compared to 3.4 percent in May 2021, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said in a statement Thursday. Core inflation discounts or strips out certain categories that are considered more volatile. Egypt’s annual consumer price inflation declined to 5.3 percent in June 2021, compared to 6 percent in May 2020, state-statistics body said Thursday. On a monthly basis, inflation recorded 113.2 points in June 2021, marking an increase of 0.3 percent compared to May 2021, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said. According to the announcement, Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation accelerated to 4.9 percent in June from 4.8 percent in May.

CAIRO – 8 July 2021: The "Voice of America" website shed light on the organization of an exhibition in Paris dedicated to stars of Arab cinema and music from the golden age from the 1920s to the 1970s, when women became a strong symbol of feminism, independence and Arab identity. Through film clips, music, posters and memorabilia, the exhibition "Diva" or "The Stars" in Paris traces the women's art scene in the Arab world. “Women in the Arab world fought to live their lives, and fought for more rights, and that was a battle that women fought – women for women,” said Elodie Bouvard, the exhibition’s co-curator at the Arab World Institute. She added, "This show is just to say, at this time, this industry was very strong and it was an industry where women had their place." The website indicated that the exhibition will run until September 26 at the Arab World Institute in Paris.

CAIRO – 8 July 2021: Remittances from Egyptian expatriates increased 34 percent during April, recording $2.5 billion, compared to $1.8 billion during the same month of 2020, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). The data also showed an increase in remittances from Egyptians working abroad during the period from July 2020 until the end of April, to record about $25.8 billion, compared to about $23.4 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year 2019-2020. CAPMAS announced earlier that remittances from Egyptian expatriates recorded a total of $205.3 billion, representing 31.7 percent of Egypt's total foreign exchange earnings over 10 years. During the fiscal year 2013/2014, remittances decreased 0.8 percent, recording $18.5 billion, while rebounded to $19.3 billion during the fiscal year 2014/2015 to record $19.3 billion, marking a rise of 4.4 percent compared to the fiscal year 2013/2014. Moreover, remittances from Egyptian expatriates hiked 10.4 percent during the fiscal year of 2019/2020 to reach $27.8 billion, recording its highest record ever, compared to $25.2 billion during the fiscal year of 2018/2019.

CAIRO – 8 July 2021: Anthropologists in Germany have discovered an artifact that indicates the Neanderthals knew fine art. The scientific journal Nature Ecology & Evolution published a report on the artifact, a sculpture of deer bones, with an intricate geometric inscription. It is worth mentioning that the aforementioned artifact was found in Einhorn Cave in central Germany. The British journal Nature reports that the oldest DNA discovered in Denisov Cave belongs to Denisovans, while Neanderthals appeared in the cave later. In the cave, scientists also found parts of bones and teeth belonging to representatives of Neanderthals and Denisovans, in sediments that are 300,000 years old.

In statements to MENA on the fringe of the UfM Women Business Forum, Kamel asserted the union's full support to the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030 which is aimed to ensure that Egyptian women will become active contributors to the achievement of the sustainable development goals in a nation that enables them to develop their capacities and achieve their full potential. Kamel said development has been witnessed over the past few years in many programs that are aimed to improve the conditions of women and expand their representation in the ministerial and parliamentary posts in Egypt. The UfM follows up with interest the rapid steps that Egypt takes in the digitization field so as to become a smart and developed state, he noted.

Among those projects is the development of the Cairo Citadel Aqueduct or Mamluk Aqueduct, which is a medieval aqueduct system in Cairo, Egypt. This is within the framework of the ministry’s project to restore the historical wall and the surrounding area, which has turned into an important tourist attraction and will soon become one of the most important tourist and recreational places in Cairo. The project to develop the Cairo Citadel Aqueduct aims to revive this historical area and re-highlight its cultural splendor with its important cultural value, to represent a new addition to the map of archaeological and tourist destinations in Egypt. The Citadel Aqueduct is located in the Citadel and Old Cairo. The Citadel Aqueduct or Qanater Al-Ghoury, contains aqueducts to carry water, extends 2800 meters in length from the mouth of the Gulf area to the Bab Al-Qarafa area in Sayedda Aisha.

On July 8 session, parties involved, mainly Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia will present their visions on the issue, and the draft resolution will be submitted to the UNSC members. The terms of the resolution proposed by Tunisia on behalf of the Arab League at the Security Council include:1 – Demanding Ethiopia to cease the second filling of the GERD2 – Demanding Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia to resume negotiations. 4 – Demanding the three countries to stop any measure that delays negotiations. 5 – Demanding Ethiopia to stop unilateral decisions. The dispute among Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia dates back to May 2011 when Ethiopia started building the dam; Egypt voiced concern over its water share [55.5 billion cubic meters].

Basma BishayThe man, an airliner employee, was detained and investigated after the prosecution found inappropriate pictures of the victim on the man’s phone. Actress Zeinab GharibShe said that a man was stalking her in a dark street downtown, and when she turned around, she found him taking pictures of her from behind. Standing up against harassment, sexual assaultThere has been an awakening movement in the Egyptian society as many victims of harassment and rape rose to reveal their stories, and send assaulters to prison. In July, the Egyptian government ratified a draft law that guarantees the secrecy of testimonies made by victims of harassment, rape and sexual assault. It does not exceed five years and the fine is not less than twenty thousand pounds and not more than fifty thousand pounds.

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled al-Anany on Wednesday evening discussed with the ambassador of the EU in Cairo Christian Berger about an initiative undertaken by ambassadors of EU countries to promote tourism and archeological destinations in Egypt, in cooperation with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. As part of the initiative, 22 ambassadors from the European Union visited Egyptian tourists and shared clips on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube and the embassies’ official pages. The meeting discussed ways to enhance cooperation and return tourism flow from EU countries to Egypt, especially after the application of the European health passport. The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities previously announced that 525,000 tourists from 20 countries visited Egypt during the month of April. He also pointed out Egypt’s infrastructure projects and the role they will have in changing tourism.

Egyptian Permanent Representative at the United Nations Mohamed Edris and Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York on July 8, 2021. Press PhotoCAIRO – 8 July 2021: Egyptian Permanent Representative at the United Nations Mohamed Edris met Wednesday with Secretary General Antonio Guterres whereas the latter commended Egypt's efforts during its chairmanship of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC). Egypt was elected to hold the position for the year 2021 for the first time in its history. The Egyptian ambassador and the international official conferred over Egypt's priorities while leading the PBC and progress achieved so far as well as ways of overcoming obstacles hindering the commission's work. Speaking of impediments faced by the United Nations when dealing with conflicts, the ambassador says that sustainable predictable funding is necessary for peacebuilding processes during the transitional period that follows the conclusion of UN peacekeeping missions.