Egypt s Finance Minister Mohamed Maait stressed on Thursday that his ministry seeks to lower public debt to 80 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2022. It also seeks to reduce the total budget deficit to 7 percent of the GDP during the 2019/20 fiscal year. The minister s remarks came after Egypt achieved last year the first budget surplus in 15 years, amounting to 0.2 percent.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) excluded imports of rice, beans and lentils from the 100 percent cash cover granted on import orders for one year. In a statement, the bank said the exemption from full import payments in advance will continue until 15 March 2020.

Foreign investors held $15.8 billion of Egyptian treasury bills and bonds at the end of February, the finance minister said on Wednesday, up from $13.1 billion in January. Foreign holdings of Egyptian treasuries stood at $23.1 billion at the end of March 2018 and $17.5 billion at the close of the last fiscal year which ended in June.

Egyptian parliament Mohamed Fouad submitted a draft bill with the House of Representatives to amend Law No. 103 for 1961 on re-organizing Al-Azhar and its affiliated institutions in order to further encourage gender equality. The draft amendments suggest that women be represented by no less that 25 percent of the members in the Senior Scholars Authority of Al-Azhar, which is a 40-member body.

A human rights delegation comprised of two NGOs is set to participate in ‎the upcoming 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, which was launched on 27 February and will run till 26 March. The delegation aims to clarify facts to the international community about the situation in Egypt. Members of the delegation include Said Abdel-Hafez, representing the Forum for ‎Development and Human Rights Dialogue (Moltaka), and Aida Nour, from the Women and Development ‎Association.‎

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) gave the green light to four banks to go forward with issuing Aman life insurance certificates in line with directives of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. In a statement on Tuesday, the CBE said the four banks are the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque Misr, Banque Du Caire and Agriculture Bank of Egypt.

Egypt s foreign reserves rose by $1.4 billion by the end of February 2019 to reach $44.06 billion, compared to $42.6 billion by the end of January 2019, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said on Monday. Egypt s foreign currency reserves have been witnessing continuous increases since 2014; registering $37 billion in 2017, $24.3 billion in 2016, $16.4 billion in 2015, and $15.3 billion in 2014.

Egypt s Health Minister Hala Zayed said on Monday the total number of those examined since the “100 million healthy lives” initiative was launched is estimated at 32.5 million citizens covering 27 governorates till now. Zayed, in press statements on Monday, said 1.6 million citizens were screened in the seven governorates included in the third stage till yesterday. The initiative aims at eliminating Hepatitis C in Egypt. Zayed lauded performance of all medical teams taking part in the initiative.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi welcomed on Sunday current cooperation between Egypt and the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO) to facilitate the planning of energy infrastructure in Egypt and conduct studies on renewable energy technology. The president made the remarks during a meeting with GEIDCO Chairman Liu Zhenya in the presence of Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker.

French Rafale jets have arrived at an Egyptian air base to conduct a joint military exercise with Egyptian air forces, the Egyptian Armed Forces announced. According to the Egyptian Armed Forces statement on the drill, the joint exercise is the first of its kind involving Rafale jets to bolster security and stability in the region.

Security forces in Menoufiya arrested the fugitive driver of the train that caused the accident at the Ramses Station on Wednesday, killing and wounding dozens of citizens. A security source said that the driver, Alaa Salah, was arrested at an apartment owned by one of his relatives in the city of Shebin al-Kom in Menoufiya.

On Thursday morning, Health Minister Hala Zayed visited the victims of the Ramses Station train accident at Dar al-Shifaa Hospital to ensure that all medical care was provided to them. Two injured had died on Thursday morning, including the driver of an ambulance, bringing the total death toll to 22, she added, noting that all the bodies of the deceased are under the authority of the public prosecutors.

Egyptian state television reported that 20 people were killed and 40 others wounded when a fire broke out in Cairo’s Ramses Station after a train collided with the station’s pavement at the end of the line, causing an explosion. Top prosecutor Nabil Sadeq opened an urgent investigation into the incident, ordering the formation of a committee to find out the cause of the accident.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed on Tuesday Egypt s keenness on boosting international cooperation in the field of human rights and the resolution of conflicts. Addressing the high-level segment of the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Shoukry said that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi launched an initiative last year to achieve development in transparency. Shoukry also highlighted the inauguration of the country s largest mosque and cathedral in the New Administrative Capital last month to prove that there is no religious discrimination in Egypt.

Flights from Russia to Egypt s popular Red Sea resorts of Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada may be fully resumed soon, a Russian Federation Council official said on Tuesday. Russia suspended air traffic with Egypt in October 2015 after the crash of a Russian passenger flight from Egypt s popular tourist resort of Sharm El-Sheikh killed all 224 people on board. However, flights were resumed from and to the capital Cairo in April 2018, ending a more than two-and-a-half-year suspension.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry announced that during the sidelines of the EU-Arab League summit, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Monday to discuss the latest updates in the Giulio Regeni murder case, alongside reviewing economic and diplomatic relations between the two countries. He added that the meeting was a good opportunity to enhance ties between Italy and Egypt, especially after controversy brought on by the murder case.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called on Arab and European nations to “overcome what could divide us” at the closing session of the first-ever EU-Arab League summit, which has been taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh. "We have successfully convened; yet our successful cooperation is pending your work, because you will be the ones who will reap the benefits of this mutual cooperation," El-Sisi said in his speech to the summit on Sunday, as he praised the Arab-European partnership.

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced on Sunday that Egyptian cotton exports in the period between September and November 2018 reached 128,300 metric quintals compared to the same period last year, representing around 45.1 percent increase. The Agency said in its quarterly newsletter for the first quarter of the 2018-2019 agricultural year that total consumption rates of domestic cotton reached 25,700 metric quintals, compared to 5,440 metric quintals during the same period of the previous year, recording a decrease of 42.2 percent due to the production suspension by some textile factories.

Egypt’s government will construct eight international universities in the New Administrative Capital by 2020, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel Ghaffar announced during his visit to the University of Canada in Egypt (UCE) on Sunday. President of the UCE, Debbie MacLellan, and Chief of the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces Kamel Waziri accompanied Abdel Ghafar during his inspection of the university’s course of study, which will serve as a likely model for the future universities.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will inaugurate Sunday the first ever European Union-Arab League Summit scheduled 24-25 February in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Shiekh. The summit will be chaired jointly by European Council President Donald Tusk and El-Sisi. With the participation of more than 50 European Union and Arab League (AL) member states, the EU-AL Summit is the first ever to bring together heads of states and government from both sides.

EU Delegate to Egypt Ivan Surkos said that 24 presidents and prime ministers out of 28 European Union member states will come to Sharm El-Sheikh this week to attend first ever EU-Arab League Summit scheduled 24-25 February. The summit will be chaired jointly by European Council President Donald Tusk and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.