It’s shaping up to be a good Tuesday, ladies and gentlemen, as the news cycle continues to be kind — but far from insipid.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Qatar is investing USD 5 bn in Egypt through “several transactions and partnerships” in the coming period, according to a cabinet statement. The statement did not provide further details on the planned investments or the exact timeline. The agreement came during a meeting between Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Cairo earlier today.

^^We’ll have more on this story and others in tomorrow’s edition of EnterpriseAM.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• Gov’t downgrades FY 2021-2022 GDP forecast: The government has lowered its growth outlook for FY 2021-2022 to 5.7% from 6.4% due to the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, said Planning Minister Hala El Said. The state privatization program has also been scaled back due to the war, with the government now aiming to offer shares in four or five companies this year.
• Startup funding bonanza: Cairo-based fantasy football startup Eksab has closed a USD 3 mn seed round led by Africa-focused VC firm 4DX Ventures, with participation from Darwazah Capital, Golden Palm Investments, P1 Ventures, and other angel investors. Separately, Egyptian healthtech startup Otida has raised USD 340k in a pre-seed round led by Texas-based VC Lofty, Flat6Labs, Afropreneurs, Jedar Capital, OQAL, UI Investments and others. Also, Jordanian digital healthcare platform Altibbi has raised USD 44 mn in a series B funding round and will use the funding in part to expand in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
• France is lending us EUR 777 mn for the Metro Line 1 revamp: We yesterday signed a loan agreement with the French government for EUR 776.9 mn to fund the 55 new trains for Cairo Metro Line 1 being supplied by French manufacturer Alstom.

HAPPENING NOW-

The first edition of MENA Climate Week is ongoing in Dubai. The UAE-organized event is designed to drive regional and global climate action by bringing together ministers, high-level speakers, and leading figures, according to a press release picked up by Zawya. The outcomes of the talks and sessions will “optimize the environment for COP27 next November” while also paving the way for UAE to host COP28 in 2023. The Climate Week kicked off yesterday and will run until Thursday.

A number of Egyptian ministers (past and present) are speaking at panels today: Finance Minister Mohamed Maait spoke at a panel looking at climate strategies and finance needed for an equitable transition, while Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad was a speaker at a separate panel on “integrated approaches for climate resilience in the MENA region.” Former Investment Minister and current IMF Executive Director Mahmoud Mohieldin — named Egypt’s climate champion — is sitting on a high-level panel discussing “Accelerating Implementation in this Critical Decade” while also participating in the Marrakech Partnership Implementation Lab.

Most of the summit’s events are available to watch online. You can check out all of the sessions of the day here.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Russia and Ukraine appear to be making headway in peace talks held in Istanbul today, with Moscow promising to “drastically” cut back on its military operations around the Ukrainian capital and Chernihiv to make space for the negotiations, Reuters reports. Ukraine’s proposal, meanwhile, would see it adopt a neutral status that would ensure it would not become a member of any alliances nor host foreign military bases on its territory. Kyiv’s proposal also includes international security assurances — which it suggested could be provided by Israel, Canada, Poland, and Turkey — that would guard it against any attacks. The fate of Crimea, which Russia annexed back in 2014, would be determined in a “15-year consultation period” that would be contingent on a full ceasefire. Moscow will “examine” Ukraine’s proposal before coming back with a response.

FOR TOMORROW-

Afreximbank and the Angolan Embassy in Egypt are hosting (pdf) an Angola-Egypt investment roundtable tomorrow at the Hilton Cairo Heliopolis Hotel. Click here to RSVP and join the discussion.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

All individual taxpayers have until this Thursday, 31 March, to submit their 2021 tax returns to the Tax Authority. The deadline for companies with January-December fiscal years is 30 April.

Companies have a little less than two weeks to file their first quarterly ESG compliance report: Listed firms and non-bank financial services companies need to submit their first quarterly ESG report by 10 April, the FRA said (pdf) on Sunday. The regulator is making it mandatory for corporates to publicly disclose their performance on key environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics each year when they submit their annual financial statements, starting 2023.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- It’s going to keep getting warmer over the next few days until Ramadan, with a high tomorrow of 29°C in the capital city, rising to 38°C or so on Saturday, the first day of Ramadan. The daytime high will hover in the mid-to-high 30s all next week.