Egypt and France on Saturday finalized the “Cleopatra 2018” naval exercises, one of the biggest joint marine exercises to have taken place in the Red Sea, as part of the Egyptian armed forces plan for training with allied countries, during which troops launched a landing operation on an island. Egypt’s Army Chief-of-Staff Mohamed Farid, the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Navy Lieutenant General Ahmed Khaled, and the commander of the French forces attended the final stage of the exercise.

Statistics from the Russian Export Center revealed that Egypt has surpassed China as the largest purchaser of Russian products, importing almost $1.8 billion worth of products in 2017, Russian news agency Russia Today (RT) reported. Egypt’s food imports from Russia accounted for $1.73 billion, almost 44 percent more compared to the previous year. Due to Egypt’s high consumption of bread, 82 percent of the country’s food imports from Russia was wheat.

As Egypt’s political sphere is occupied with discussions regarding the forthcoming presidential election, which will see Egyptians heading to the polls later in March to choose between Egypt’s current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his sole competitor Moussa Mostafa Moussa, leader of the centrist pro-government Ghad Party, Egypt Independent took to the streets and surveyed a number of Egyptians to get a foretaste of whether they’ll be participating in the election, and who they’ll be rooting for. Presidential hopeful Moussa, a Sisi supporter himself, submitted his candidacy documents to the National Elections Authority (NEA) 15 minutes before the deadline, after every other presidential hopeful, with the exception of Sisi, had either withdrawn from the race or was forcibly pushed out by authorities.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah said on Tuesday that the dream to turn Egypt into a regional energy hub is becoming a reality, referring to a number of gas deals recently signed in the country. The president made the comments while opening a number of investor service centres across the country. El-Sisi commented on the controversial $15 billion gas deal brokered between two Israeli companies and private Egyptian company Dolphinus, saying that Egypt has "nothing to hide about this deal."

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asserted on Wednesday that the Egyptian government is not part of – or a partner in – the $15 billion deal signed between Israeli and Egyptian companies to export Israeli gas. The statements came at the headquarters of the Ministry of Investment, where Sisi was inaugurating the first center supporting investors in the country.

Egyptian leftist MP Abdel-Hamid Kamal, who represents the governorate of Suez, has submitted an urgent information request on Tuesday asking that Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla be summoned to parliament as soon as possible to explain to MPs reports that Israel has signed two agreements to sell gas to Egypt. Kamal s request, submitted to parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal, said, "Importing natural gas from Israel would be in violation of Article 139 of the constitution, which states that the main job of the president of the republic is to preserve the people s interests and maintain the independence of the state and the integrity and safety of its land."

Ahmed Zaki Abdin, head of the Administrative Capital for Urban Development, the company responsible for developing Egypt’s new capital, said Tuesday that the New Administrative Capital is an investment project that will not cost state coffer even a pence. He added that the first phase of the mega-project will be completed within three to four years. He pointed out that 25,000 housing units and 1000 villas will be put up for sale by the end of March, highlighting that, upon completion, the new capital will match the most modern capitals in world. Government district

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser in Cairo on Monday for discussions on further cooperation and investment opportunities. According to a statement from the president s office, El-Sisi expressed his appreciation for what the German company has achieved in Egypt in terms of development and infrastructure projects, including the three power stations in Bani Sueif, Borollos and the New Capital City, worth of 6 billion euros.

The Arab League has criticized attempts by Turkey s foreign minister to "politically outbid the Secretary General s remarks" over Turkish military operations in Syria, made during the Munich Security Conference on Sunday. In an official statement on Monday, the Secretary General s spokesman Mahmoud Afifi voiced "his surprise at the nervous and unjustified reaction" of the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in response to the remarks of the Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit during the session that discussed the situation in the Middle East, specifically Syria.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hosted on Sunday Patrick Gerard, the President of the French National School of Administration, to discuss the partnership with the French School’s Egyptian counterpart, the Egyptian National Academy, which aims to prepare the next generation of Egyptian leaders in all fields, reported Al-Ahram.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) cut key interest rates by 100 basis points on Thursday, the bank said in a press release. The overnight deposit rate was lowered to 17.75 percent from 18.75 percent, and the overnight lending rate was cut to 18.75 percent from 19.75 percent.

Head of the Holding Company for Airports and Aeronautics Mohamed Mahrous told Al-Ahram newspaper that the company will be initiating a trial operation for three new airports: the Sphinx International Airport on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road, the New Capital Airport, and the Bredwell Airport in Sinai. The trial will involve the operation of all devices, equipment, and systems within the three airports, in addition to operating all required facilities such as ambulances and navigation systems.

The Egyptian parliament has given its final approval to the amended Capital Market Law, the Investment and International Cooperation Ministry announced in a statement on Tuesday. Forty-five articles of the 75-article 1992 Capital Market law were amended.

Hisham Geneina, Egypt s former chief auditor and a leading aide of detained ex-military chief-of-staff Sami Anan, was arrested on Tuesday, just hours after the Egyptian army said it would take legal action against the two men over claims relating to secret state documents. Ali Taha, Geneina s lawyer, told Ahram Online that Geneina was arrested by police at his house in New Cairo s First Settlement. Taha said it was unclear if Geneina was going to be questioned by the military prosecution.

The US should revive negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis as the main guarantor of the peace process in the Middle East, Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during their meeting in Cairo on Monday. In an official statement, Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said El-Sisi affirmed Egypt s clear and unwavering stance on reaching a fair and comprehensive solution that guarantees the right of Palestinian people and the establishment of an independent state with its capital in East Jerusalem in line with the June 1967 borders in accordance with international resolutions.

Production from Egypt s huge offshore Zohr field in the Mediterranean will reach 2.9 billion cubic feet per day by mid-2019, Italy s Eni said on Monday. Speaking at an industry event in Cairo, CEO Claudio Descalzi said the goal was to reach output of 1.8 bcf to 2 bcf per day by the end of 2018 and then ramp up to 2.9 bcf per day by mid-2019.

Ambassador of Cyprus to Cairo Khris Moritissis held a meeting Sunday with Tareq Radwan, head of the Egyptian parliament s committee on foreign relations. A statement issued by the committee said "Radwan welcomed the visit of the Cypriot ambassador to the Egyptian parliament, affirming that bilateral relations between Cairo and Nicosia are strong and that both seek to achieve their mutual interests on the regional and international levels."

Remittances from Egyptians abroad increased by 29.3% year-on-year in December 2017 to $2.6 billion, up from $2 billion in December 2016, the Central Bank of Egypt announced in a press statement on Sunday. Total remittances since November 2016, when the Egyptian currency was floated, and December 2017 recorded $29.1 billion, a 19.2% increase compared to the same period a year earlier.

Egypt on Sunday opened the country s first electric vehicle charging unit, as countries around the world incrasingly move toward a battery-powered car market. Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil oversaw the opening of the new unit, installed at a state-owned Wataniya gas station on the Cairo-Suez highway and owned by Revolta Egypt, a developer of electric charging infrastructure and other electric vehicle-related projects.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Thursday that using water-preserving irrigation systems in agriculture is extremely important, stressing that "Egyptians must be careful with every drop of water they use." El-Sisi made the comments at Mohamed Naguib military base in Hammam city in Marsa Matrouh governorate, where he inaugurated the first phase of a project to build 100,000 greenhouses to grow agricultural products using less water for irrigation than used in traditional farming.

Egypt s National Elections Authority (NEA) spokesperson Mahmoud El-Sherif said on Wednesday that the NEA is set to start printing 60 million ballot papers for the 2018 presidential elections, which are scheduled for 26-28 March. El-Sherif added that the NEA has contracted a third party to print the ballot papers.