Egyptian government officials held talks with the World Bank on Tuesday to discuss the accelerated disbursement of the third and final tranche of Egypt s $3 billion loan. The talks took place in Washington on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank annual meeting, with Minister of International Cooperation and Investment Sahar Nasr heading Egypt s delegation. Nasr met with the CEO of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Kristalina Georgia and the Vice President of the World Bank for the MENA region Hafez Ghanem.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received the head of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Ronald Lauder in Cairo on Tuesday, presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef said in a statement. The meeting reflects Egypt s keenness to communicate with all sectors of American society in order to improve understanding of the challenges the region is currently facing, according to the spokesman.

Italy s new ambassador to Cairo, Giampolo Cantini, said on Sunday that economic relations between Egypt and Italy are witnessing a big boom, trade is increasing, and pointed out the importance strategic relations between the two countries, especially in regards to neighboring countries. During a meeting by the Egyptian-European Business Council on Sunday, Cantini said that there are opportunities to develop and promote tourism between Egypt and Italy and to bring more Italian tourists to Egypt.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to extend the maturity of $4 billion worth of deposits they made with Egypt s central bank and which were due to mature in 2018, the bank s governor told an Egyptian newspaper on Monday. Since 2013, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have given Egypt some $8 billion in aid, including deposits by both with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) worth $2 billion each.

Egypt said on Sunday it issued treasury bills worth EGP 13.25 billion ($744 million), state owned MENA agency reported. In an official statement, Egypt s finance ministry said a 91-day-term treasury bill was issued worth EGP 6.5 billion with an average yield of 18.984% from 19.001% at the last sale.

The Egyptian Foreign Affairs Ministry released a statement on Saturday in which it commented on new US strategy on Iran, announced by US President Donald Trump on October 13th , according to the ministry’s Egyptian spokesperson. The US announcement included gave Egypt cause for concern, due to Iranian policies that may jeopardize regional stability, overall Arab national security and the security of the Gulf region, which is an integral part of Egyptian national security.

Finance Minister Amr al-Garhy said that the preliminary results of the economic reform program implementation in Egypt are very promising, and the government intends to continue reform steps to achieve high growth rates and sustainable development.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday attended a ceremony marking the official launch of the country s new administrative capital, which will be home to government ministries, residential units and an international airport. The mega-project, announced in March 2015, is part of the government s plan to expand urban areas to deal with the country s rapid population growth rate and improve the nation s infrastructure.

Egypt s Court of Cassation has accepted imprisoned political activist Ahmed Douma s appeal against a life sentence order handed to him in February 2015 in the Cabinet clashes case, state-run agency MENA reported on Thursday. Douma, a leading figure in the pro-democracy revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak, was convicted of rioting, inciting violence and attacking security forces in late 2011.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday attended a ceremony marking the official launch of the country s new administrative capital, which will be home to government ministries, residential units and an airport. The mega-project, announced in March 2015, is part of the government s plan to increase urban areas to deal with the country s rapid population growth rate and improve the nation s infrastructure.

Egypt s GDP growth is predicted to reach 4.5 percent in fiscal year 2017/18, according to the International Monetary Fund s World Economic Outlook report for October, which was released on Tuesday. Egypt s consumer price inflation for the fiscal year is projected at 21.3 percent, the report showed. The unemployment rate is forecast to fall to 11.5 from 12.2.

Egypt s foreign ministry spokesman has said Qatar s first-round win in voting for a new UNESCO director-general raises "many question marks", after the Gulf nation s candidate took a surprising lead following Monday s secret ballot. In comments to Egyptian state TV, ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Cairo had not expected the Qatari candidate to emerge in lead position in the voting, which will continue through the week until a winner emerges.

Egypt s parliament approved on Tuesday amendments to the law regulating the Administrative Watchdog Authority (AWA), which is in charge of fighting corruption. MPs, who approved the law in principle on Monday evening, finally voted in favour of the new amendments in a plenary session on Tuesday morning. Parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal decided on Monday that the final approval of the law be postponed to Tuesday morning "because it needs the endorsement of two thirds of MPs."

Egypt s Candidate for the UNESCO position of director-general, Moshira Khattab, will be a second round finalist for the post after she came in third out of seven candidates in the first round of secret-ballot voting by the organization s 58-member-state executive board in Paris on Monday. Qatar s candidate Abdulaziz Al-Kawari came in first with 19 votes while France s candidate Audrey Azoulay finished second with 13, Egyptian state TV s UNESCO correspondent reported. A second round of secret-ballot voting to elect the new chief among the three contenders will be held on Tuesday.

Egypt s parliament approved amendments of the law regulating the performance of the Administrative Watchdog Authority (AWA) on Monday. The law, approved by parliament s legislative and constitutional affairs committee on Sunday, aims to amend AWA s law (law no.54/1964) to go in line with Egypt s 2014 constitution and to reinforce its role in combating corruption.

Remittances from Egyptian expats were 40 percent higher in August than in the same month last year, registering $1.7 billion this year compared to $1.2 billion in August 2016, the Egyptian Central Bank said Sunday.

Moshira Khattab, acclaimed Egyptian diplomat, human rights advocate and the official nominee for director-general of the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is campaigning to be the organisation s first African leader. Permanent delegates of the African group countries met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry last Friday in Paris, where they expressed their support for Egypt s candidate.

Egypt s Minister of Education Tarek Shawky said on Saturday that doing away with the country s decades-old Thanaweya Amma (high school) system is inevitable, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported. The minister said during a speech at the EduVation summit at the privately owned Nile University that the 2018 academic year will see an overhaul of the current educational system, which focuses on tests and memorisation.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held talks with Brett McGurk, the US special envoy to the coalition against Islamic State, in Cairo on Wednesday, to discuss US-Egyptian coordination on counter-terrorism. Shoukry and McGurk discussed efforts to defeat Daesh in Iraq, the post-defeat phase and how authorities can continue to hold ground, foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement on Wednesday.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi gave a short speech commemorating the 44th anniversary of Egypt s 6 October victory against Israel on Wednesday, saluting the Egyptian people for their sacrifices in maintaining the capabilities of their great nation. President El-Sisi gave the speech ahead of a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). "The October victory was not just a military triumph to liberate our lands, but also a victory over despair and frustration to restore dignity and peace," El-Sisi said.

Total tax revenues for fiscal year 2016/17 increased by 31.8 percent year-on-year to EGP 464.4 billion, compared to EGP 352.3 billion the year before, finance minister Amr El-Garhy announced at a press conference on Tuesday, according to Al-Ahram Arabic website. The increase in tax collections was mainly driven by the value-added tax, which was set at 13 percent last fiscal year.