Egypt’s General Authority for Free Zone and Investment (GAFI) was selected on Tuesday the regional director of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) for the Middle East and North Africa. GAFI had been selected for the same post in 2006 when Ziad Bahaa al-Din presided over the authority. Members of the steering committee of WAIPA voted for Egypt after it competed with the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority, the Palestinian Investment Promotion Agency, the Lebanese Investment Development Authority, and the Tunisian Investment Promotion Agency.

Egypt s Minister of Transport Hisham Arafat has announced a project to revamp the national railway network, with EGP 55 billion to be invested up to 2022. During a surprise visit to Giza railway station on the Sham El-Neseem holiday, Arafat told reporters that Egypt has “a clear and comprehensive plan to develop all aspects of the railway system, whether in infrastructure, tractors, train carriages and signals,” Al-Ahram Arabic news website.

Egypt will raise up to 2 billion euro with its planned dual-tranche bond, which is expected to price later on Monday, a document from one of the banks arranging the debt offering showed. The debt sale - Egypt s first public bond denominated in euro - received orders in excess of 7.2 billion euro, split evenly across the proposed eight-year and 12-year tranches.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry affirmed on Friday in the wake of a meeting held in Sudan to reach a compromise between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), that consultations had not produced significant results that could be announced. All outstanding issues were discussed, Shoukry said in a press statement after the 16-hour meeting, including ways to implement the instructions issued by the leaders of the three countries regarding a path out of the stalemate in negotiations regarding technical impacts

The economic reforms in Egypt are starting to bear fruit, with the domestic deficit shrinking by 67 percent in the current fiscal year, Bloomberg said. The victory of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the election is expected to pave the way for further economic reforms, Bloomberg added.

Yemeni President Abd-Rabo Mansour Hadi congratulated his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on his re-election in a phone call on Wednesday, Egypt s presidential spokesperson Bassem Rady said in a statement. During the phone call, Hadi reaffirmed Yemen s intention to further develop the two countries mutually beneficial cooperation in many areas.

Egypt s acting General Intelligence chief Abbas Kamel met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Tuesday to discuss the latest Egyptian efforts to secure Palestinian reconciliation as well as cooperation between Egypt and Palestine, Palestinian news agency Maan reported. Abbas said during the meeting that he values Egypt s support of the Palestinian cause.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is due to fly to Khartoum on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said, for talks with Sudanese and Ethiopian officials aimed at resolving an impasse over the hydroelectric dam Addis Ababa is building on a Nile tributary. The gathering will include foreign and water ministers as well as intelligence officials from the three countries, in a fresh bid to end a standoff in negotiations over the $4 billion Grand Renaissance Dam over the Blue Nile, which Egypt fears could greatly diminish its share of Nile water.

Egypt’s parliament approved unanimously on Monday a law to set up a Supreme Council to confront terrorism and extremism. The new council replaces the National Council for Counter Terrorism and Extremism, which was established by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in July.

Egypt s National Elections Authority (NEA) has declared Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi the winner of the nation s 2018 presidential elections, securing a second four-year term after winning 21,835,378 votes or 97.08 percent of valid votes. At a press conference in Cairo on Monday, the NEA said that 24,254,152 citizens voted in the elections at home and abroad, out of near 59 million eligible voters, representing a turnout of 41.5 percent.

Egypt s foreign reserves reached $42.611 billion at the end of March, a rise of nearly $87 million from $42.524 billion at the end of February, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said on Monday. The nation s foreign reserves have been climbing since it secured a $12 billion three-year loan from the International Monetary Fund in 2016, as part of efforts to woo foreign investors and revive Egypt s economy.

North Cairo Court ordered on Saturday two anonymous companies to pay compensation worth of US$7.7 million to the Egyptian government due to carrying out work damaging to the environment, which violated provisions of the environmental law.

Egypt s National Elections Authority said late on Saturday that it would announce the final and official presidential election results on Monday, holding a press conference for the purpose at 3pm Cairo time. According to preliminary results leaked to the media last week, the incumbent, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, has achieved a landslide victory, securing over 90 percent of the vote, confidently beating his only opponent Moussa Mostafa Moussa.

Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met on Sunday with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman El-Safadi for discussions on the escalation of tensions along the Israel-Gaza border that saw the Israeli military kill 16 Palestinian protesters at the weekend. On Friday, Israeli military snipers opened fire on Palestinians protesting along the border as part of the annual "Land Day" demonstrations against Israeli settlements.

Initial results of Egypt s presidential elections show that incumbent President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is securing an overwhelming majority, with a vote share of around 90 percent, Ahram Arabic and state news agency MENA reported. El-Sisi s sole rival, Ghad Party head Moussa Mostafa Moussa, appears to have obtained a meager 2-3 percent in most parts across the country.

Egypt suspended studies at schools across several governorates on Thursday after a fierce dust storm swept across the country on Wednesday evening, Egyptian state TV reported. The suspension includes all schools in the governorates of Sharqiya, Daqahliya, Sohag, Assuit, Qena as well as other regions.

Arab states should take a firm stance in rejecting any foreign intervention in their domestic affairs, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said in his speech at the Arab League Summit on Wednesday.

Egypt’s Interior Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that there is no official objection to the medical pardon of 22-year-old Ahmed el-Khatib, or his transfer to a private hospital due to his deteriorating medical condition, in response to ongoing family requests.

Egyptian citizens headed to polling stations across the country on Wednesday for the third and final day of voting in Egypt s 2018 presidential elections. Voting started from 9am in 13,706 polling stations in all 26 governorates, with the process due to end at 9pm on Wednesday. Vote counting is set to start after the polls close on Wednesday night.

Egypt has decided to maintain its current customs exchange rate of EGP 16 per $1, effective in April, for the sixth month in a row. In an official statement on Wednesday, Egypt s finance ministry said the unchanged customs exchange rate is due to the stability witnessed by the Egyptian economy.

A number of international organisations that are observing the voting in Egypt s 2018 presidential elections have said the process is going smoothly, two days into the three-day vote. "Voters cast their ballots in a very peaceful and organised environment on the first and second day of elections," said Abdallah Diop, the head of the 40-strong African Union observers mission, praising the security presence around polling stations and the organisation among voters.