Minister of Finance Amr al-Garhi stated on Sunday that the Egyptian government is working on a medium-term plan to cut public debt levels from 107 percent of GDP in fiscal year 2016/2017 to 80 percent by 2020, after public debts level rose fivefold over the past five years from LE 800 million. During the Inclusive Growth and Job Creation Conference, organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in cooperation with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), al-Garhi clarified that the debt reduction plan aims first to reduce the overall deficit in the budget and achieve an initial surplus of 2 percent of GDP, in addition to an increase of the average per capita income.

The head of Egypt s Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Mohab Mamish announced on Monday the signing of a memorandum of understanding in Dubai with Dubai Ports (DP) and the Holding Company for Maritime & Land Transport (HCMLT) to develop Egypt s first dry port in the 6 October City on the western outskirts of Cairo at a cost of $100 million. The MoU was signed by Mamish and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman and chief executive officer of DP World Group, as well as Mohamed Youssef, the chairman of HCMLT, which follows the Egyptian Ministry of Business Sector.

The tripartite technical meeting of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which was held over the last couple of days by the irrigation ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, was ended in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Sunday, with no tangible results. Ethiopia holds onto its position on the initial technical report, which qualifies for the preparation of the technical report that defines the safe path of the dam.

Egypt s foreign reserves climbed to $44.030 billion at the end of April, up from $42.611 billion at the end of March, Egypt s central bank said on Thursday. In late 2016, Egypt started an economic reform programme including floating the local currency, fuel and energy subsidy cuts and tax increases.

Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that Egypt made independent decisions and maintained objectivity during its non-permanent membership at the UN Security Council for a two-year term that ended in late 2017. The minister made the remarks at a ceremony celebrating the issuance of a special supplement of Al-Ahram s Al-Siyassa Al-Dawliya magazine on the country s Security Council membership. The ceremony was held at Al-Ahram headquarters in downtown Cairo on Wednesday.

Egypt to start implementing a new education system in September, Education Minister Tariq Shawki said in a press conference on Monday. The beginning of the implementation of the system in September will be compulsory in early childhood KG1, KG2, and the first grade, for all public and private schools.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Egypt had offered the Palestinians a piece of the Sinai Peninsula during the rule of former President Mohamed Morsi who was backed by the outlawed group of Muslim Brotherhood. Abbas’ statements came during a speech he delivered at the meeting of the Palestinian National Council, which took place on Monday in the city of Ramallah.

The presidents of Egypt, Greece and Cyprus inaugurated the “Nostos: Roots Revival” initiative in Alexandria on Monday. President Nicos Anastasiades of Cyprus ,Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos along with Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated the event.

Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity is planning to impose a minimum quota of renewable energy consumption on factories operating in the local market by mid 2019, a source told Al- Renewable energy consumption will increase to contribute to around 6-8 percent of the total energy produced, a ministry source said, adding that the decision of imposing a quota would help support the expansion of Egypt’s renewable energy projects as it will ease some burdens on investors paying in the feed-in-tariff projects.

Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil has issued a decree increasing the local component requirement for local car manufacturing to 46 percent, according to a statement from the ministry on Sunday. Previously only 45 percent of components of locally assembled cars had to be sourced domestically.

Egypt said on Sunday it wants talks over a dam Ethiopia is building speeded up in a sign of its apparent frustration over what it sees as foot-dragging by Addis Ababa over the dispute. Egypt and Ethiopia are at loggerheads over the construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam, a US$4 billion-hydroelectric project that Cairo fears will reduce waters that run to its fields and reservoirs from Ethiopia’s highlands and via Sudan.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi hailed on Sunday the Egyptian people for bearing the brunt of the economic reform program, while stressing that more work is needed to keep the economy on track. "All the thanks and gratitude goes to the Egyptians for their extraordinary efforts," El-Sisi said at a labor day event, which was hosted by the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) to mark the 1 May International Workers Day celebrations. "Ordinary people withstood the tough impacts of the economic reform program, making sincere sacrifices," the President said.

Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed in a Cairo meeting on Sunday with Yemeni counterpart Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi the need for a political solution to the crisis in Yemen, according to a statement by Egypt s foreign ministry. "The talks focused on assessing the political situation and the balance of power in Yemen," the statement said.

Egypt s housing ministry spokesperson announced on Wednesday that almost 80 percent of the rainwater that flooded the streets of New Cairo, on the outskirts of the capital, has been removed. Several areas of Cairo were hit with heavy downpour on Tuesday which buckled roads, damaged buildings, cut power and brought traffic to a standstill on major thoroughfares.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al Sisi signed off on Tuesday a legislation to establish the Supreme Council to Combat Terrorism and Extremism to act as an independent body with all technical, financial and administrative powers, state news agency MENA reported. The law, earlier passed by the parliament and approved by the cabinet, stipulates that the council will be entrusted with mobilizing institutional and community support for countering all forms of terrorism, as well as drying up its sources of funding.

Speaking on the occasion of the 36th anniversary of Sinai s liberation from Israeli occupation, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said the peninsula today faces renewed threats from terrorist groups. "It s obvious to everyone that the greed in Sinai has not ended, and while the threats have changed in nature, their seriousness has not decreased," the president said in a speech broadcast on TV.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met on Tuesday with leading European energy officials to discuss transforming Egypt into an energy hub for the region, according to a statement by the presidency. El-Sisi met with the European Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete as well as Ulrich Spiesshofer, the German chief executive officer of the ABB Group, a leading power and automation technology company.

Head of the Suez Canal Authority and Economic Zone, Mohab Mamish, announced on Monday that progress on reaching development agreements for expanding Egypt s industrial shipping zones in Port Said and Ain Sokhna is being rapidly made. Following a meeting with Egypt s Minister of Industry and Trade Tarek Kabil to discuss the latest work on Egypt s Suez Canal region, Mamish noted that negotiations with Dubai Ports (DP) are close to reaching an agreement to further develop Egypt s Ain Sokhna port region.

Egypt’s parliament approved on Monday an article from the Antiquities Protection Law that would stipulate strict financial fines for those who harass tourists at archeological sites. The penalties in the law include imposing financial fines of up to LE 10,000 on any one who harasses tourists while they are inside touristic sites or museums or those with the intention of begging, promoting, offering or selling a good or service in favor of others.

President of the World Bank group Jim Yong Kim praised the “economic success” that he said Egypt has achieved and applauded the legislation that contributed to improving the investment environment in the country. The statement came on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Washington DC. During a meeting with Egypt s Minister of Investments and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr, Kim said that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has courageously managed to overcome the challenges that have been facing Egypt s development.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed deep regret over the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) s honouring of the photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zaid, known as Shawkan, who has been in pre-trial detention since 2013. The ministry said that it was informed that the UNESCO is seeking to grant Shawkan the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize and denounced the consideration of the photojournalist for the award.