Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly left to Oman Sunday to offer condolences after the death of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said in Muscat. Madbouly will be heading a senior delegation that will include the ministers of religious endowments, tourism and antiquities, justice and planning. The visit comes one day after Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced Saturday three days of mourning in the country after the death. Sultan Qaboos Bin Said passed away late Friday at age of 79 after nearly 50 years in power. Oman named Saturday Minister of Culture Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said as the new ruler of the Arab Gulf country, ending speculation over who would succeed longtime ruler Sultan Qaboos.

Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will head for Algeria Thursday carrying a message from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Shoukry said he is scheduled to hand over the message during a meeting with the Algerian president, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said. Shoukry will also hold talks with his Algerian counterpart Sabri Boukadoum on means of promoting bilateral cooperation as well as a host of issues, topped by the Libyan crisis.

Egypt said on Wednesday that there is a "real opportunity" to make progress during the current talks in Addis Ababa to overcome the dispute over a giant dam project Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile. "I think there is a real opportunity to make progress in our meeting today and tomorrow to overcome differences," Egypt s Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel-Ati told a meeting between officials from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia on Wednesday. "We hope to come up with a draft agreement on filling and operating the [Grand Ethiopian] Renaissance Dam (GERD)." Abdel-Ati s remarks came during the last of the four technical meetings between the water ministers of the three countries to resolve the dispute over the $4 billion hydroelectric project. During his speech to the gathering, Abdel-Ati said that the key components of a final agreement between the three countries involve: the filling of the dam, drought alleviation measures, "fair and balanced" operation rules that sustainably enable Ethiopia to generate hydroelectric power while maintaining the operation of Egypt s High Dam, as well as establishing an effective mechanism for the implementation of the agreement. "We agreed on these basic components, and our differences lie in the approach to implementing these elements and in some numerical values, such as drought limits, and some differences with regard to the operation of the Renaissance Dam under different hydrological conditions," the Egyptian minister said, according to a statement by his ministry. "I sincerely believe that we can bridge the gap between us on these issues," the minister said. The two-day meeting was attended by the irrigation ministers of Ethiopia and Sudan and technical delegations from the three countries, with the participation of the World Bank. It is part of a roadmap agreed upon during a US-brokered meeting in Washington last November to break the deadlock inthe negotiations. Abdel-Ati expressed hope that the GERD, as a new water structure in the eastern Nile system, would be integrated in a joint management process with Aswan s High Dam to "preserve the resilience of the water system to meet the harsh conditions" that may arise from filling and operating the dam. Egypt 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, which provides the bulk of the country’s water resources. Egypt s water supply is already scarce. The country is suffering from a significant water shortage of 21 billion cubic meters a year, a crisis that the country is tackling through the treatment of agricultural and sewage water, according to Abdel-Ati. Ethiopia started constructing the dam in 2011 on the Blue Nile in the northern Ethiopia highlands, from where most of the Nile s waters flow. Ethiopia aims to become the continent s biggest power exporter by generating more than 6,000 megawatts through the dam. The Egyptian Water and Irrigation Ministry spokesperson told Ahram Online last December that Egypt is holding to its demands regarding the regulations for filling and operating the GERD, dismissing news reports that Egypt had agreed to the release of 35 billion cubic meters of water. According to the Declaration of Principles signed by Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in 2015, if the three countries failed in resolving the dispute through negotiations, they can ask for mediation or refer the matter to their heads of states or prime ministers. The first meeting of the US-sponsored talks was held in Addis Ababa in mid-November 2019, the second was in Cairo in early December 2019, and the third was in Khartoum in late December 2019. The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan should meet 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.

Egypt is set to host on Wednesday a ministerial coordination meeting with the foreign ministers of France, Italy, Greece and Cyprus to discuss the ongoing rapid developments in Libya, a statement by the foreign ministry read. According to the statement, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will hold the meeting with his counterparts to discuss pushing forward efforts to reach a comprehensive political resolution for the Libyan crisis and military actions that aim to hamper such efforts. The foreign ministers will also discuss the overall situation in the Eastern Mediterranean. The ministerial meeting comes a few days after Shoukry held phone calls with his Italian and French counterparts Luigi Di Maio and Jean-Yves Le Drian, where they agreed that Turkey’s recent intervention in Libya endangers security and peace in whole the region. The calls, which came shortly after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the start of Turkish troop deployment to Libya, are part of intensive communications by Egypt with international partners on ongoing developments in Libya. In the past weeks, tensions have continued to mount in the Mediterranean region following controversial accords signed between Ankara and Libya s Government of National Accord, led by Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj.

New Vatican Ambassador to Egypt Archbishop Nicolas Henry arrived in Cairo late on Saturday. Archbishop Henry was received by several archbishops and leaders of the Catholic Church in Egypt. Archbishop Henry has previously served in India, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgium, Cuba, Bulgaria, Guatemala, among other countries. He served in the Section for Relations with States at the Vatican before joining the private secretariat of Cardinal-Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone in 2006. In 2010, he was elevated to the rank of Apostolic Prothonotary and joined the Prefecture of the Pontifical House. In January 2013, he was one of the last bishops ordained by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who appointed him Apostolic Nuncio in Guatemala in 2013.

Egypt’s foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez has criticised Libya s internationally recognised government after it issued a statement on Wednesday thanking only some Arab countries for their support towards Libya during a recent Arab League s (AL) meeting over the North African country The Tripoli-based government expressed its "appreciation to Qatar, Sudan and foreign ministers...of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritanian for their supportive stance towards Libya" an urgent meeting of the Arab league held in Cairo on Tuesda to discuss the latest developments in Libya. In a tweet late on Wednesday, the Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson slammed the statement. "Isn t it strange that the Tripoli government only thanked [some] Arab countries, not others, for their supportive stance during the [Arab] League s meeting yesterday?" the spokesman said, adding that the invitation came from Egypt and the draft resolution came from Egypt. "Thanking goes to all Arab countries for their unified stance rejecting any foreign interference in Libya and supporting initial stances that we put forward," Hafez added. In a resolution issued following its extraordinary meeting on Tuesday, the Al stressed its rejection of any forms of foreign interference in Libya, and expressed "grave concern" about military escalation in the conflict-ridden country. It also affirmed the necessity of the prevention of any foreign interference, which would contribute to facilitating the movement of extremist foreign terrorists and fighters into Libya. Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his government would deploy troops to Libya after Fayez Al-Serraj chairman of The Tripoli-based government requested support, raising fears of further destabilisation in the war-torn country and the region. The rival 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 Tripoli government.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi hoped that the new year would bring stability, peace, and prosperity to Egypt and the whole world. "I greet all Egyptians and the whole world on the occasion of the new year, and I wish a new year full of stability, prosperity and peace," Sisi said on his official social media pages on Tuesday.

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.