Parliament agreed in principle on Sunday on government-drafted amendments to two laws, the Supply Affairs Law and the Protection of Competition and Prevention of Monopolistic Practices Law, in a bid to toughen up penalties for monopolistic practices. Final approval was postponed to another session due to the lack of a quorum, however. The amendments aim to rein in prices on local markets, particularly those of essential goods.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Tuesday that Egyptian companies investments in African markets have reached $8 billion, state news agency MENA reported. The PM s comments came during the inauguration of the first Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2018), which kicked off on Tuesday in Cairo.

In a meeting with members of the Egyptian parliament s economic affairs committee on Tuesday, Egypt s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maeet said that despite complaints by citizens about the harsh living conditions brought on by the government s economic reforms, Egyptians will reap the fruits of economic reform in a gradual way. The minister assured that citizens are already feeling the positive effects of the reforms, as the government has managed to reduce inflation rates and make sure that basic goods and services are available at all times on the market.

Minister of Planning and Administrative Reform Hala El-Saeed said that exports are vital for the Egyptian economy, adding that the government is seeking to increase annual exports by 15 to 20 percent. The minister s remarks were made during her meeting with governor of the Central Bank of Egypt Tarek Amer, the Council of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and representatives of the IsDB s Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) led by the corporation s CEO Abdel-Rahman El-Kaissi, Director of Middle East and North Africa Morad Mizori and Regional Director Ali Mostafa.

Egypt s annual urban consumer price inflation dipped to 15.7 percent in November from 17.7 percent in October, the official statistics agency CAPMAS said on Monday, exceeding analysts expectations. The rate had been increasing steadily since August, reflecting the impact of the government s fuel, electricity and transportation subsidy cuts that helped it meet the terms of its $12 billion IMF loan.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi says that ensuring security and stability in Africa is considered an investment for the continent. El-Sisi made the comments during the first session of the Africa 2018 economic forum in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh.

Egypt signed on Sunday a 229-million-euro deal with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to improve sanitation and community infrastructure in the Nile Delta, the EIB announced in a press statement. Signed on the sidelines of the Africa 2018 economic forum in Sharm El-Sheikh in the presence of PM Mostafa Mabdouly, the initial agreement on the deal was reached in October during a visit by Egypt s Investment Minister Sahar Nasr to Luxemburg.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met on Thursday with the CEO of the multinational technology giant Cisco Systems and a senior official in the automobile company Mercedes-Benz to discuss pushing investments and cooperation during the upcoming period. President El-Sisi expressed to Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins his appreciation for the company s efforts in supporting Egypt s transformation towards digital technology through its current investments and training of young Egyptian cadres.

Egypt s foreign ministry issued a statement on Thursday condemning a recent report by the UN special rapporteur on the right to housing which alleges violations in the area of housing rights in the country, saying the report contained fabricated incidents and baseless allegations about the government s policies in the area of housing. The ministry said that Egypt had invited the special rappateur to visit the country between 24 September and 3 October as part of the government s openness to cooperate with international human rights bodies and enable them to understand the challenges faced by the government in providing suitable housing.

The World Bank announced Wednesday it is loaning Egypt $1 billion to support the country s private sector and create new jobs. The new programme will build on a series of annual loans totaling $3.15 billion that the bank issued from 2015 to 2017 to support Egypt s economic reforms.

Brigadier Khalid al-Husseini, the official spokesman for the New Administrative Capital, announced the allocation of about 1,600 acres for the diplomatic district at the New Administrative Capital, adding that 50 embassies and diplomatic missions in Egypt have submitted requests to reserve headquarters there so far. According to Husseini, the price of the square meter is $400. He added that paying in installments is possible, expecting further diplomatic missions to make reservation requests.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed with Sudanese Defence Minister Awad Mohammed bin Auf military cooperation, border control, as well as combating organised crime, terrorism and irregular migration on Tuesday, a statement by presidential spokesperson Bassam Rady said. The meeting comes on the sidelines of Egypt s first defence expo EDEX 2018, which kicked off on Monday and will last until Wednesday.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced on Tuesday that Egypt’s foreign currency reserves rose by $12 million in November to stand at $44.513 billion, compared to $44.501 billion in October. Before the January 25 Revolution of 2011, Egypt’s foreign exchange reserves stood at roughly $36 billion. They fell to nearly $19 billion until a $12 billion loan was signed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in November 2016.

Egypt s Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki told military officials at the opening ceremony of the country s EDEX 2018 military expo that "those who have the keys to power can make peace." Zaki saluted and expressed his deep appreciation of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi for sponsoring EDEX 2018, which he said was the first international defence and security industry exhibition in north and central Africa.

Amid increased living costs, a parliamentary proposal to allow Egyptian citizens to pay electricity bills in installments was submitted by MP Mohamed Abdel Aziz al-Ghoul to the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Electricity and Energy. Ghoul said that the proposal, which includes installments over several months, aims at reducing the financial burden placed on citizens across different governorates, out of sympathy on the part of the state with them – especially in light of the daily cost of living (which has climbed relative to real wages in 2016).

Egyptian prosecutors have rejected a request made by Italian prosecutors during a Wednesday meeting that a number of Egyptian national security agents be named as suspects in the murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni in 2016. In exclusive statements to MENA news agency, an Egyptian judicial source has said that Italy had made a similar request in December 2017, which Egyptian prosecutors had also turned down.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly held a meeting with the Minister of Planning and Administrative Reform Hala al-Saed, and Executive Director of the National Academy for Youth Training and Rehabilitation Rasha Ragheb to discuss outlines for a presidential initiative to train African youth. Madbouly said that the government would organize several training programs within the initiative, aiming to reinforce the prestige of Egypt in Africa before taking over presidency of the African Union in 2019.

Egypt s cabinet approved on Wednesday measures that go in line with the World Health Organization s (WHO) protocol to combat the illicit trade in tobacco products, MENA reported. The objective of the protocol is the elimination of all forms of illicit trade in tobacco. The protocol was developed in response to the growing illegal trade in tobacco products, often across borders.

The defence ministers of Egypt, Greece and Cyprus have attended joint military drills between the three countries near the Greek island of Crete, the Egyptian army said late on Wednesday. The Medusa-7 training exercise, which involves air and naval forces from the three countries, began earlier this week west of Crete.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić discussed on Wednesday with Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry boosting cooperation between the two countries, a statement by Shoukry s spokesperson Ahmed Hafez said. Shoukry is on a three-day visit to Serbia to discuss bilateral cooperation with Serbian officials. During the meeting with Vučić, Shoukry expressed Egypt s appreciation for a decision adopted by the two sides to upgrade the level of representation of a higher joint committee between the two countries. The decision reflects the keenness of the two countries to promote cooperation, the spokesman quoted Shoukry as saying.

Damietta Public Prosecution ordered the arrest of Sami Diab, an Arabic language teacher at the Martyr Mohamed Gamal Saber School in Damietta, on Tuesday evening for four days pending investigation on charges of bullying a dark-skinned student, Basmala Ali Abdallah, in the second preparatory grade. He said during interrogations he did not mean to bully or ridicule the student.