Egypt s parliament approved on Sunday a landmark agreement on establishing and operating the Russian Industrial Zone in the Suez Canal Economic Area. The agreement, signed between the two governments in Moscow in May 2018 (no.420/2018), is expected to attract $7 billion in Russian investments.

Egyptian member of parliament Ismail Nasr El-Din announced on Sunday that he intends to present a draft bill to the House of Representatives to remove religious identification from national IDs and official state documents. Egypt s national IDs, which every citizen must carry at all times, contain basic information about individuals including age, occupation, place of residence, marital status and religious affiliation.

Egyptian ambassador to Tel Aviv Khaled Azmy said on Thursday that Egypt is committed to achieving a comprehensive and just peace in the Middle East as the only way to ensure lasting stability and prosperity for all the peoples of the region, according to a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry. In a meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivilin, the Egyptian ambassador said that the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, which was signed 40 years ago, managed to lower tensions in the region and become one of the pillars of stability in the Middle East.

The Suez Canal’s projected revenues this year increased to $6 billion, compared with $5.5 billion last year, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mamish said. In a statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Mamish attributed the increase in revenues to the new Suez Canal, which has reduced the time required for the passage of ships through the canal from 22 hours to 11 hours.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi took all by surprise when he announced on Monday that he supports amending a controversial NGO law passed in 2016. On the second day of the World Youth Forum on Monday, held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh between 3 and 6 November, participant Yostina Tharwat appealed to El-Sisi to invoke his constitutional powers to request a revision of the NGO la

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Tuesday that Egypt is keen on enhancing constructive cooperation and bilateral relations with Sudan. During a meeting with Sudanese president Omar al-Basher in Sharm al-Sheikh, Basher said that his country coordinates situations with Sudan based on the unity between the people Egypt and Sudan.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has said that the media has played a negative role in their coverage of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and said that the army will defend Gulf countries against threats. The president added that Saudi Arabia s stability cannot be undermined, according to Egypt s state news agency MENA.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended side-by-side with Sudanese counterpart Omar Al-Bashir the closing ceremony of the second edition of the World Youth Forum in South Sinai s Sharm El-Sheikh. The closing ceremony of the forum, which ran from 3 to 6 November, will see an announcement of the recommendations of the international forum, which attracted 5,000 participants this year.

Countries are built only though work, effort, and suffering, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Monday during the second day of the World Youth Forum (WYF) in South Sinai s Sharm El-Sheikh. In a session of the forum titled How to Build Future Leaders, El-Sisi spoke about efforts to develop the country s education system.

Public Enterprise Sector Minister Hisham Tawfeeq has discussed executive procedures needed for the reform and development of subsidiaries belonging to the Holding Company for Cotton, Spinning, Weaving and Clothing. The minister met with a delegation from the global consulting firm Warner, headed by the CEO, who prepared a comprehensive structuring study of the subsidiaries. President of the Holding Company Ahmed Mostafa also attended the meeting.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi spoke about the necessity of reforming religious discourse and other challenges facing the country on the first day of the World Youth Forum 2018 in Sharm El-Sheikh. In a talk during a morning session discussing the role of world leaders in building and sustaining peace, El-Sisi spoke about reforming religious discourse; which comes a few days after a terrorist attack that killed seven Copts and injured others in Upper Egypt s Minya.

Egypts Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli held a meeting with Chairman of the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) Guan Qing on Sunday in Shanghai, and discussed the construction works of Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, especially the business district. During the activities of the China International Import Expo, Madbouli asserted that the government selected CSCEC to carry out the construction of the Finance and Business district because of its capabilities of achieving the works with high quality. Minister of Commerce and Industry Amr Nassar and senior CSCEC officials also attended the meeting. Madbouli pointed out that the business district will have 20 towers, including the highest tower in Africa at a height of 345 meters, adding that this project is a major civilizational shift and will provide thousands of jobs. Mohamed Salah’s statue displayed in World Youth Forum In October 2017, as part of the mega-scheme New Administrative Capital project, China’s state-owned CSCEC agreed to build Egypt a 345m-high skyscraper, set to be Africa’s tallest building, said Chinese news agency, Xinhua.

Egypt is aiming for an external borrowing ceiling of $14.326 billion (£11.13 billion) in the 2019-2020 financial year, a government document seen by Reuters on Thursday showed. The country expects total foreign debt to reach $102.863 billion and aims to repay $10.326 billion to foreign lenders in the 2019-2020 financial year, the document showed.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will lead a high-level delegation to attend the opening of the 2nd World Youth Forum (WYF) in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh at the invitation of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, Palestinian Ambassador in Cairo and Permanent Delegate to the Arab League Diab Al-Loh said Thursday.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed in separate meetings on Wednesday with Germany s interior and foreign federal ministers security cooperation as well as the latest developments in Yemen, Somalia, Libya and Syria. El-Sisi, who is in Germany on an official visit, discussed with German FM Heiko Maas the latest regional developments, stressing that addressing the challenges facing the region requires continued efforts by the international community.

Egypt s Planning Minister Hala El-Saeed has said that the government seeks to achieve a gross domestic product growth rate of 10 percent by the end of the 2029/30 fiscal year. To meet this target, the government aims to reach a growth rate of 5.9 percent in the 2018/19 fiscal year, to gradually increase to eight and then 10 percent in the 2029/2030 fiscal year, El-Saeed said.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Tuesday in a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Egypt aims to boost investment and trade with Germany, and that the two countries have agreed to develop joint security and military cooperation. During the presser, El-Sisi hailed Germany s support for Egypt s battle against terrorism, extremism as well as the economic reform programme Egypt started implementing in 2016.

Egypt s Ministry of the Public Business Sector has prepared a draft law to eliminate the entanglements of companies returning to state ownership. The law, consisting of only two articles, stipulates that re-nationalized companies should be referred to the Investment and Dispute Resolution Committee, to consider how to compensate investors who bought them in good faith.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met on Monday with German Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier at his residence in Berlin, where they discussed economic cooperation and bilateral relations. According to the Egyptian presidency, El-Sisi praised the state of Egyptian-German economic relations, adding that Egypt is happy to host the fifth round of the Egyptian-German economic committee in Cairo in February 2019.

Egypt s Defence Minister General Mohamed Zaki discussed on Monday in Cairo with his Burundian counterpart Gen Niyongabo military cooperation between the two countries, a statement by Egyptian Armed Forces spokesperson Tamer El-Refai said. Saturday s meeting was attended by the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Mohamed Farid and a Burundian military delegation.

The Finance Ministry auctioned on Sunday 91-day and 273-day treasury bonds at a total value of EGP 18.5 billion. In an online statement, the ministry said it has sold EGP 9.750 billion of 91-day T-bonds with an average yield of 19.709%, adding it accepted bids at rates between 19.724% and 19.001%.