The Arab League (AL) Council will hold an extraordinary meeting in Cairo on Tuesday at the level of permanent delegates to discuss the latest developments in Libya. The meeting, set to be presided over by Iraq, comes at the request of Egypt with the aim of taking a unified stance against illegitimate interference in Libya and exploring means of settling the Libyan crisis, Assistant AL Secretary General Hossam Zaki said. The Arab delegates will also discuss how to safeguard Libya s resources, as well as its sovereignty and unity, Zaki added. The eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), led by General Khalifa Haftar, has been fighting fierce battles in recent weeks to take the Capital Tripoli in the west of the country from the UN-brokered Government of National Accord (GNA). Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his government would deploy troops to Libya after Fayez Al-Serraj s GNA requested support, raising fears of further destabilisation in the war-torn country and the region. Last month, Ankara signed two separate accords with the GNA, one on security and military cooperation and another on maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, a move rejected as a violation of international law by various countries including Egypt, France, Cyprus and Greece. Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has said that "Cairo s stance on the Libyan crisis is clear as it is focused on restoring safety and stability in Libya, supporting anti-terrorism efforts, undermining the activities of armed groups and putting an end to the illegal foreign interference in Libya s domestic affairs." On Saturday, Aguila Saleh, the speaker of Libya’s parliament, said during a visit to Cyprus that Turkey s willingness to dispatch troops to Libya is "unacceptable and destabilizing" and that such a move would constitute unwanted meddling in Libyan affairs.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi held a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron Sunday evening that tackled the current developments in Libya. Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said the two sides agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation to find a political solution to the crisis in Libya. El-Sisi said Cairo s stance on the Libyan crisis is clear as it is focused on restoring safety and stability in Libya, supporting anti-terrorism efforts, undermining the activities of armed groups and putting an end to the illegal foreign interference in Libya s domestic affairs, Rady said. The discussion also dealt with boosting bilateral cooperation. The two leaders also exchanged greetings on Christmas.

Egypt said on Sunday that it awarded oil and gas exploration concessions in the Red Sea to Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and Mubadala in an international tender. Chevron was awarded the first block, Shell a second block, and a third block was awarded jointly to Shell and Mubadala with a total exploration area of around 10,000 square km (3,860 square miles) and with a minimum investment of $326 million, the petroleum ministry said in a statement. The announcement few months after Egypt s South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE) announced in March 2019 the launch of the international bid for oil and gas exploration for the first time in 10 Offshore Exploration Blocks in the Red Sea. Egyptian petroleum minister Tarek El-Molla described the results of the tender as "positive", adding that the current phase would see higher demand by global oil corporations.

Egypt is holding to its demands regarding the regulations for filling and operating the giant hydroelectric dam Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile, the Egyptian Water and Irrigation Ministry spokesperson told Ahram Online on Wednesday. "Egypt has been demanding an annual flow of 40 billion cubic metres of water from the Blue Nile during the filling of the dam s reservoir, as well as during drought and prolonged drought," Mohamed El-Sabei said. "Egypt s demand for 40 billion cubic metres of waters is based on the drought that happened from 1979 to 1987," El-Sabei said, adding that the Ethiopian side has proposed the release of 35 billion cubic metres of water during the filling process and during draught. The Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation, which issued a statement on Wednesday affirming that it is sticking to its demand, said its statement was meant to refute news reports claiming that Egypt had agreed to the release of 35 billion cubic metres of water. The statement comes a day after Ethiopian Water, Irrigation and Energy Minister Sileshi Bekele said that Egypt had dropped "some of the irrelevant issues" regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). According to his statements published by the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) on Tuesday, Egypt allegedly dropped its previous request that Ethiopia release 49 billion cubic meters of water annually. He also added that a final agreement between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia would be signed next month. Earlier this week, officials from the three countries met in Khartoum in a bid to resolve the dispute over the $4 billion project, which Egypt fears will diminish its water supply. The three sides are set to continue talks in the Ethiopian capital on 9-10 January. The meetings are part of a roadmap agreed upon during US-mediated talks last month in Washington that set 15 January as the targeted deadline for resolving the dispute. The foreign ministers of the three countries will reconvene on 13 January in Washington, in the presence officials from the US Treasury and the World Bank, to try to finalise an agreement to resolve the dispute. Ethiopia hopes that the GERD, which has been under construction since 2011, will allow it to become Africa’s biggest power exporter. Egypt, however, fears that the Ethiopian dam, which is 70 percent complete and set to be fully operational by 2022, will diminish its share of Nile water, on which it is almost entirely reliant for water resources.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Tuesday received a phone call from Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. During the phone call, the two sides discussed the close historical bilateral ties in different areas, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said. The pair exchanged views on regional issues of mutual concern, asserting the importance of strengthening coordination in this regard, either at the bilateral level or within the framework of the tripartite cooperation mechanism between Egypt, Greece and Cyprus, the spokesman added. The two leaders also affirmed the convergence of common interests and positions between their countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, the spokesman said. El-Sisi and Mitsotakis reviewed how to coordinate joint efforts with regard to countering terrorism and extremist thought, as well as illegal migration, the spokesman noted. The president lauded the distinguished relations between Cairo and Athens, saying that Egypt looks forward to boosting cooperation with Greece at all levels, notably the security, military and economic ones, the spokesman noted.

Egypt s Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on Monday that the 2020/21 fiscal year will witness improvement in the living conditions of the Egyptian people. Addressing the parliament s manpower committee, Maait said that the government will submit the new budget to the House of Representatives on 31 March. He added that the government has succeeded in controlling the inflation rates and providing the basic commodities for citizens at affordable prices in the past period. Maait also expected the public debt to reach 83 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 30 June, 2020, down from 108 percent of the GDP before the start of the economic reform program in 2016. He pointed out that a large number of public servants are scheduled to be promoted in January after the allocation of EGP 1.5 billion on that score.

Egypt’s parliament approved on Sunday morning a long-awaited cabinet reshuffle that involves 11 portfolios, including the reinstatement of a ministry and the merging of two others. The House of Representatives announced that Mostafa Madbouly will retain his post as prime minister, and will also be in charge of the portfolio of investment and administrative reform. The reshuffle includes two cabinet ministers who have been named to other portfolios. These are tourism minister Rania El-Mashat, who will be in charge of the international cooperation portfolio, and minister of parliamentary affairs Omar Marawn, who will be minister of justice. The ministries of tourism and antiquities have been merged into one portfolio, with current Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Anani to remain at the helm. The cabinet shake-up saw the reintroduction of a ministry for information. Osama Heikal, a former minister of information (2011) and the current head of parliament’s culture, media, and antiquities committee, will be appointed minister of state for information. Egypt’s last minister of information was Dorreya Sharafeddin who left after the post was cancelled in 2014. Planning and Administrative Reform Minister Hala El-Saeed will be in charge of planning and economic development. Nevine Gamea, who has been in charge of a government body for small and medium-sized enterprises, has been named minister of industry instead of Amr Nassar. Nevine El-Qabbag has been appointed minister of social solidarity, replacing Ghada Wali, who was named last month Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Other appointments were Mohamed Manar Enaba as minister of aviation, Alaa Fouad as minister of parliamentary affairs and El-Sayed El-Qossair as minister of agriculture. The ministers are expected to be sworn in before President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi later on Sunday. The reshuffle also involves 11 deputy ministers. House speaker Ali Abdel-Aal said the new appointments have been approved by the absolute majority of MPs.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah-El Sisi on Saturday praised efforts by the Armed Forces to uproot terrorism and maintain security and stability nationwide. Meeting Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki and Navy Commander Ahmed Khaled, El-Sisi ordered to continue upgrading capabilities, training and combat readiness, presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. The meeting reviewed the latest developments regarding measures taken to protect, secure and tighten control of the Egyptian borders, as well as efforts to eliminate terrorism and enhance comprehensive security capabilities along the land and maritime borders on all strategic directions

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has congratulated British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the victory of his Conservatives Party in the country’s general election. In a phone call with Johnson on Wednesday, El-Sisi said the party’s landslide victory in the election reflects British voters’ confidence in Johnson’s vision and ability to lead the country in the coming stage, Egypt s presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in press statements on Wednesday. The president also congratulated the British premier on the approach of Christmas. During the phone call, El-Sisi lauded the positive development in Cairo-London relations, especially after the British government’s recent decision to resume direct flights to Sharm El-Sheikh airport, and that Egypt is looking forward to increased cooperation in various fields, in particular on the economic, political, security and tourism levels. The talks also touched on consultation and coordination on regional and international issues. Meanwhile, the British prime minister asserted his keenness to continue consultation and coordination with El-Sisi on various issues of common interest. Johnson also affirmed his country’s determination to upgrade bilateral relations with Egypt on all levels, particularly in light of Cairo’s role in supporting and consolidating peace and stability in the Middle East and Africa.

Egypt s Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation and Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) signed Tuesday with the World Bank an assistance agreement worth EGP 2.5 million as part of Egypt s national strategy for upgrading statistics. Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nassr said the agreement was signed to in order to better evaluate all economic and business sectors in Egypt, and to track the implementation of sustainable development objectives.

Egypt and the USAID signed on Tuesday an agreement for an additional $6 million for the North Sinai development initiative, bringing the total in the bilateral assistance programme to the governorate to $56 million. The agreement was signed by Egypt s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr and the USAID Mission Director in Egypt Sherry Carlin, in attendance of the US Ambassador in Egypt Jonathan Cohen.

A project to establish Japanese-style schools in Egypt is of a great importance for building Egyptian citizens, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said on Sunday. Sisi made his remarks during a meeting with a group of Japanese experts who are expected to supervise the Japanese education system in Egypt. Shedding light on the Japanese system s focus on honing students personal as well as academic abilities and promoting the teamwork concept, Sisi commended the experts enthusiasm for contributing to such a mega national project. Meanwhile, the experts expressed their pleasure to meet President Sisi in Sharm El Sheikh, the venue of the 3rd edition of the World Youth Forum, which kicked off on Saturday. They noted that their participation in Egypt s educational reform project is based on their appreciation of the country s cultural legacy and ancient history and the state s keen willingness to adhere to the best standards while working on this project, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said. The meeting tackled the experts action plan and proposed timeline for setting up and implementing a clear-cut plan to apply the Japanese education system in Egypt, including teachers training and curriculum development in cooperation with the education and technical education ministry, Rady noted. The project, which aims to create 100 such schools, was agreed on during Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi s visit to Japan in February 2016. Under a cooperation protocol signed between Egypt and Japan in 2017, Japan is providing the necessary technical support for the project.

The second day of the third edition of the World Youth Forum (WYF) kicked off in Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday, with the participation of Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. The second day of the forum, which is attended by international dignitaries and hundreds of youth from around the world, started with a roundtable on current challenges to international peace and security. Egypt s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, and Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Yousef Bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen are keynote speakers in the session. A documentary film about terrorism threats, illegal immigration, and terrorist entities was screened during the opening of the session. The current edition of the WYF, which kicked off Saturday, is scheduled to discuss a number of key topics, including the fourth industrial revolution, food security, the Union for the Mediterranean, and environmental challenges. Topics like artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, women’s empowerment, and the arts and cinema are also on the forum’s agenda.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended the opening session of the second day of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development on Thursday. The first session of the day kicked off under the title of "To enhance the role of African women to achieve peace, security and development." The second day of the forum will include sessions on advancing African women’s contribution to peace, security and development, a roundtable discussion on supporting the transition process in Sudan, and a session on forced displacement and mixed migration in Africa. The forum aims at enhancing sustainable peace and development in the African continent in light of Egypt s presidency to the African Union. The forum, which is held in Aswan 11-12 December, is attended by a number of African leaders and representatives from various western countries. In his opening remarks at the forum on Wednesday, El-Sisi urged African leaders to unite for peace and stability. A number of African heads of state stressed in their speeches the need to confront the threat terrorist groups pose to peace and development in the continent.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has called on African leaders to exercise their responsibility in acting on climate change and to unite efforts to face challenges to establishing stability and peace in the continent. El-Sisi s comments came during the opening of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development, which is taking place in Aswan, Upper Egypt 11-12 December. In a speech broadcast live on TV on Wednesday, El-Sisi urged African countries to join all efforts to overcome major problems facing Africa, mainly combating terrorism and associated phenomena of arms and human trafficking, illegal migration and increasing organised crimes. The Egyptian president, who curently holds the rotating presidency of the 55-national African Union, also called on fellow heads of state to take more decisive action to tackle climate change "We all shall act with responsibility on the negative implications of climate change which have exacerbated desertification and scarcity of water and natural resources," El-Sisi said African countries have made progress on achieving development and bringing stability in the region, El-sisi says, citing the adoption of 2063 African development agenda, and the initiative for a conflict-free continent by 2020 called Silencing the Guns by 2020 . More to follow

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have agreed to reconvene in Washington on 13 January to resolve a dispute over a giant dam project Ethiopia is building on the Nile River, the US Treasury said in a joint statement. Foreign ministers and water ministers from the three African countries held talks with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and World Bank President David Malpass in Washington on Monday to iron out differences over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Following the talks, the officials said that progress had been made in earlier meetings held between the water ministers of the three countries in Cairo and Addis Ababa, according to the statement. The meetings were part of a roadmap agreed upon during talks last month in Washington that set a 15 January target for resolving the dispute. Two more technical meetings are scheduled to take place in the presence of World Bank and US observers in coming weeks focused on drawing up technical rules and guidelines for the filling and operation of the dam. "The Ministers agreed that the strategic direction of the next two technical meetings should be the development of technical rules and guidelines for the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the definition of drought conditions, and drought mitigation measures to be taken", the statement said. The talks will also work on water release rates from the dam’s reservoir, it added. “The implementation of these technical rules and guidelines for the filling and operation of the GERD will be undertaken by Ethiopia, and may be adjusted by the three countries, in accordance with the hydrological conditions in the given year,” the joint statement said. Cairo fears the massive $4 billion upstream project on Ethiopia s section of the river would drastically cut its water supply from the Nile, which provides 90 percent of Egypt s drinking water. Ethiopia says the hydroelectric dam, which is about 70 percent complete, is central to its economic development and its plan to be a regional power hub. The foreign ministers will reconvene in Washington on 13 January to review the results of the upcoming technical meetings, which will be held in Khartoum and Addis Ababa, the statement said.

Egypt s Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport has topped the list of the fastest-growing major airports in Africa by capacity, a new study by Routesonline has found, as airlines continue to return to the Egyptian Red Sea resort. The latest figures revealed that the airport, which is the third busiest in Egypt, has increased its capacity by 28.9 percent in 2019 to 1.49 million available departure seats, compared to 1.16 million departure seats in 2018. Number three on the top 10 list is Hurghada airport, which recorded a growth rate of 11.9 percent in 2019. At number two is the international airport in Marrakech, western Morocco. A total of 3.91 million departure seats are on offer this year at Marrakech airport, with a rise of 22.6 percent from the previous 12 months, the study said. Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport’s growth comes as the destination continues to recover from the slump in tourism that followed the crash of Metrojet flight 9268 in the Sinai desert after take-off from Sharm El-Sheikh airport on 31 October 2015. All 224 passengers and crew on the charter flight to St Petersburg died, according to the study. Since the crash, which was likely caused by a bomb on board the Airbus A321 aircraft, security procedures have been tightened at the Egyptian airport. In October 2019, the UK government lifted its four-year ban on air travel to the Red Sea resort, paving the way for direct air services to resume. Routesonline is focused entirely on aviation route development and the company s portfolio includes events, media and online businesses. The company organises and operates world-renowned airline and airport networking events through its regional and World Route Development Forums. They are held in key markets throughout the year in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Top 10 fastest-growing airports in Africa by departure seats (2018 vs 2019): Routesonline

The relocation plan to the New Administrative Capital should not be a mere geographic change, rather a plan to build an efficient modern administrative system, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said Saturday. El-Sisi was chairing a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Administrative Reform Hala El-Saeed and President of the Central Agency for Organization and Administration (CAOA) Saleh El-Sheikh. The meeting tackled the latest developments in implementing an executive plan to relocate ministries and government bodies to the new capital, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said. It also addressed the corporate development program and an investment plan related to the government relocation project, Rady added. The move must live up to citizens expectations, El-Sisi said during the meetings, noting that it will help attain the state s development goals. It is also envisioned to represent a quantum leap in the future of administrative work, the president said. El-Saeed briefed the president on the ministry s efforts to count and update the job files of public servants to select those who are well qualified for relocation. She also reviewed the ministry s plans to improve the efficiency of relocated cadres, the spokesman noted. The 700 square kilometre capital, launched in 2015 by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, will house more than 6.5 million people. The first phase of the New Administrative Capital comprises a government district, residential neighbourhoods, and a business district. The government is planning to relocate ministries to the new capital by mid-2020.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian criticized on Wednesday two memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed last week between Libya’s National Accord Government and Turkey delimiting maritime borders in the Mediterranean and covering military and security cooperation between both sides. In a phone call between them, the two top diplomats said the deals contravene international law and a UN arms embargo on Libya. They both stressed the importance of reaching a comprehensive political settlement for the Libyan crisis, supporting the Libyan state’s institutions and elected parliament and helping Libya in its efforts to eradicate terrorism, end the military conflict and set the stage for holding free elections. The ministers also discussed Egypt-France cooperation and solid relationship, agreeing on the importance of maintaining consultation and coordination to further promote ties especially in the economic, trade and investment fields. Shoukry offered his condolences to France for the loss of 13 of its soldiers in a tragic helicopter accident in Mali and reviewed with Le Drian the latest developments in the Middle East region and most particularly conditions in Libya. The French minister invited Shoukry to visit France in the next few weeks for more bilateral talks and they both agreed that the visit should take place next month.

Egypt s irrigation ministry has dismissed reports that a joint statement was issued after the end of the final day of trilateral talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Cairo. “The meetings concluded with an agreement to continue consultations and technical discussions on controversial issues during the third meeting, scheduled to be held in Khartoum on 21-22 December,” the statement read. "The ministry said it is also looking forward to continuing negotiations at the upcoming meeting scheduled in Washington on 9 December, as well as subsequent meetings," the statement added. The two-day Cairo talks discussed the outcomes of the first meeting held in Addis Ababa on 15-16 November, in an attempt to bridge the gaps between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan and to reach a consensus on the rules of filling and operation of the GERD, according to the statement. The statement added that the Egyptian side aspires to reach a fair agreement, to coordinate between the operation of the GERD and the Aswan High Dam. The Cairo-hosted talks are the second of four rounds of talks being held in accordance with an agreement reached in a US-brokered meeting between the three parties in Washington in November, which saw the attendance of representatives of the US government and the World Bank and aimed to break a deadlock in negotiations. The timeframe for filling and operating the dam is one of the main obstacles in the negotiations. The three countries have tabled different proposals on the duration of filling the GERD’s reservoir. Egypt’s proposal calls for a relatively extended filling period. Ethiopia began building the mega-dam in 2011, in a bid to provide electricity to more than half of its population and to become the continent s biggest power exporter. Egypt, however, fears that the filling the Ethiopian dam will adversely diminish its share of Nile water, which the country depends on.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has praised the achievements of the leaders of the United Arab Emirates as the Gulf country celebrates its national day, which marks the 48th anniversary of its founding. "It is a day when the people of the country united with their leadership for a better future for the UAE, full of achievements, progress and prosperity," El-Sisi said on Twitter on Monday. The president was referring to 1971, when the seven gulf emirates united to form the UAE after they gained full independence from Britain. El-Sisi called Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday to express his good wishes for the country, El-Sisi s spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. The UAE is one of Egypt s key Arab allies.