EnterprisePM — Rania Al Mashat Explains: Egypt’s economic diplomacy and how it goes about it

TGIT: I’m sure we’re all happy it’s a quiet Thursday, but we weren’t expecting the news flow to be this quiet.

It’s also the unofficial sports issue, with much happening over the weekend that you don’t want to miss.

THE BIG DISAPPOINTMENT TODAY- The Middle East continues its trend as the worst region in terms of gender employment in finance for the fourth straight year, according to the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum’s (OMFIF) Gender Balance Index.

Having said that, Egypt is among the better countries among the region’s abysmal showing. Find out more in today’s Gender Equality section below.

In capital markets news, Nilex-listed companies have up to two months to hire nominated advisors to help them upscale their operations and promote their stock to investors under a decision (pdf) signed by EGX boss Mohamed Farid. The decision also requires the advisors, which are modelled after the UK’s ‘Nomads’ used in the LSE’s small-cap market, to stay on board with a company for at least eight months.

The announcement came after the exchange rolled out the new Tamayoz small-cap index, which was designed to help draw attention to listed SMEs with solid fundamentals. Companies that didn’t make it to the revamped gauge are being given access to sponsors to help them meet eligibility criteria including having achieved a four-year revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% or more. The program is set to be up to 70% funded through the EBRD.

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

• You no longer need a PCR test to come to Egypt if you’re fully vaccinated under new regulations issued by the Health Ministry.
• Egypt will receive the third and final tranche of the USD 5.2 bn standby loan from the IMF next week after the bank finished a final review on Cairo’s economic progress.
• The Suez Canal could soon offer shipping companies a VAT tax break as the authority works on making the canal more attractive to shippers.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- Russian state-backed giant Gazprom is curbing natural gas exports to European countries, making a gas shortage worse and driving prices to 13-year highs, the Financial Times reports. Moscow is reluctant to go above and beyond its contractual obligations, and refusing spot sales to a gas-hungry Europe, which some watchers say comes amid volatile relations with the West as Russia looks to exert pressure on the EU to complete the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will be used to ship gas directly into Germany. This also comes as Germany is angling to improve relations with the Putin administration and as the UK navy was accused of trespassing over Russian-annexed Crimea.

An opening for Egyptian LNG? Egypt’s LNG exports picked up steam after we brought the Damietta liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant online earlier in the year following an eight-year hiatus, which was expected to boost Egyptian natgas supplies to Europe. Since then, some 30 LNG shipments made their way out of the revived plant and the Idku facility.

Meanwhile, Europe’s gas infrastructure is leaking methane into the atmosphere — whether through venting or from cracks and holes in storage tanks, LNG terminals, or processing sites, video footage seen by Reuters showed. Methane, a primary component of natgas, is the second-worst greenhouse gas contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

It’s day three of the CIB PSA World Tour Finals 2020-2021 at Mall of Arabia. Yesterday’s games saw Nouran Gohar qualify for the semi-finals after she defeated France’s Camille Serme, while New Zealand’s Joelle King came out on top against USA’s Amanda Sobhy and is now tied for the lead spot with Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy in Group B. As for the men’s, Egyptians Mohamed ElShorbagy beat Ali Farag and rising talent Mostafa Asal took home a win against Marwan El Shorbagy. Elsewhere, France’s Gregoire Marche managed to defeat Welshman Joel Makin.

Up today… a very Franco-Egyptian kind of face-off: Women’s world no.2 Hania El Hammamy faces fourth-seeded Amanda Sobhy, while Salma Hany is up against France’s Camille Serme. In the men’s draw, no.2 Tarek Momen plays France’s Gregoire Marche while the Shorbagy brothers face off against each other. The tournament runs until Sunday. Tickets are currently on sale for the final two days on TicketsMarche.

Egypt Ventures + the International Cooperation Ministry’s Generation Next Forum will take place this Saturday, bringing together 400 entrepreneurs, innovators, and startups, according to a statement. The event will cover the role of international financial institutions in supporting tech startups, partnerships to facilitate access to finance, as well as startups’ role in achieving the sustainable development goals.

The Clean Energy Business Council (CEBC) MENA are holding a webinar titled Energy Efficiency in the MENA region: Status and Outlook on 6 July at 3:30pm. The session will focus on energy efficiency developments and provide recommendations for businesses and policymakers. Later on next month, CEBC will also host the webinar Women Entrepreneurs in Clean Energy on 21 July at 3pm in cooperation with the initiative, Women in Clean Energy MENA and WiRE.

The British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) is organizing a virtual education week from 5-6 July with three seminars planned. The first, taking place at 10am on 5 July, will discuss skills-based learning while the future of investment in education will be the topic on the table at 12:30pm the same day. On 6 July, a talk on the digitalization of education in Egypt will be held at 12pm.

???? FOR YOUR COMMUTE-

Europe’s electric car purchases surged 142% to 1.4 mn in 2020 and are expected to account for 10% of all vehicles on the road by the end of the decade, according to Bloomberg Green. This comes as oil refineries struggle to make ends meet with consequent blows to demand from the pandemic and the adoption of electric vehicles. Those in the industry have already resigned themselves to the incoming demand slump and are hedging their bets on other transport sectors, such as aviation and trucking, taking more time to transition to cleaner energy.

Further exacerbating the situation for European oil refineries? … Umm El Donia: Imports from new refineries that keep being built East of the Suez Canal will compete with European refineries and “are also likely to eat into the continent’s export markets,” the Bloomberg piece writes.

And the hits to Big Oil in the EU just keep on coming: The European Union’s new greenhouse gas emissions targets are now legally binding, after the European Parliament approved the bill with 442 votes in favour, 203 against and 51 abstentions, according to Reuters. The bloc’s targets include reducing net EU emissions by 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, as well as eliminating the emissions altogether by 2050.

But that may all be hype, as we apparently are very close to crossing the point of no return. Read today’s Climate Change story below to find out more.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

Just the thing to push your wanderlust into full gear: The World’s Most Amazing Rentals is a travel show on Netflix that follows three travellers as they explore some of the best places to stay around the globe. Each of the eight episodes takes place in a different destination, including Georgia, Indonesia, Mexico, Alaska, Bali, and Hawaii, and the hosts each get a chance to choose a rental to stay at in each country. Gorgeous doesn’t always mean expensive, as the hosts try and range out the price tags on each rental, which is something we personally appreciate. Overall, it’s the perfect show to relax to and will definitely help you plan your next vacation.

⚽ Last night’s fixtures: In Group D, Croatia took home a 3-1 victory against Scotland and England beat the Czech Republic 1-0. Meanwhile, the group F matches saw two ties of 2-2 (try saying that ten times fast) between Portugal and France as well as Germany and Hungary.

And that’s a wrap for the knockout phase. The round of 24 has been narrowed down, with 16 teams qualifying. The tournament’s bracket will see eight matches played with the victors heading to the semi-finals.

The matches you can look forward to:

• Italy (Group A’s top ranking team) vs. Austria (Group C’s second) on 26 June
• Wales (Group A’s second) vs. Denmark (Group B’s second) on 26 June
• Belgium (Group B’s top) vs. Portugal (Group F’s third) on 27 June
• The Netherlands (Group’s C’s top) vs. the Czech Republic (Group D’s third) on 27 June
• France (Group F’s top) vs. Switzerland (Group A’s third) on 28 June
• Croatia (Group D’s second) vs. Spain (Group E’s second) on 28 June
• Sweden (Group E’s top) vs. Ukraine (Group C’s third) on 29 June
• England (Group D’s top) vs. Germany (Group F’s second) on 29 June

Al Ahly is playing a semi-final match against ES Tunis for the African Champions League (ACL) on Saturday at 9pm. Al Ahly played a strong match against the North African country’s most successful club last week, coming out on top with a score of 1-0. South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs will face Moroccan Wydad at 6pm on the same day.

On that note, Egypt could request to reschedule the ACL final from 17 July if Al Ahly makes it to the top, since the original date would clash with Egypt’s U23 national team flying to Tokyo to take part in the Olympic Games, Egyptian Football Association (EFA) boss Ahmed Megahed told ONSports (watch, runtime: 08:27).

???? EAT THIS TONIGHT-

Felfela offers the best of oriental cuisine with a gorgeous backdrop, and is located conveniently in Downtown Cairo. We can’t get over their beautiful and elaborate decor, with every nook and cranny filled with something new to look at. It’s also a home for all of the Egyptian classics, from molokhia and stuffed pigeons to Alexandria-style seafood and fata, and it’s a great place to take your family for a Friday outing or a late night dinner. If you’re a resident of Downtown, you can get a taste of Felfela by stopping over at their takeaway branch, which is 10 meters away from the restaurant, and order some foul, taamiya, or kebda sandwiches. Here’s a sneak peek from the restaurant’s upcoming website.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

A Go Padel tournament is taking place in Mall of Egypt starting today, and running till Saturday. The tournament offers prize-money of EGP 40k.

World-famous mezzosoprano Farrah El Dibany will get on an Egyptian stage for the first time tonight at the Cairo Opera House. You can get tickets for the event taking place at 8pm here.

Zar ensemble Mazaher is performing at Darb 1718 tomorrow at 8pm. Mazaher features some of the last remaining Zar practitioners in Egypt.

Sheikh Zayed’s Cairo Jazz Club’s ‘The Homies’ will feature DJunkie, A.K. & Kaboo tomorrow at 6pm.

Join a drum circle at Gusour Cultural Center tomorrow. There are a few time slots available and attendees will be provided with a drum.

A walking tour through Coptic Cairo is being offered by Walk Like An Egytian tours on Saturday.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

A novel to cozy up to this weekend: Lady of Zamalek, written by Ashraf El Ashmawi, is an epic crime thriller spanning key moments in Egypt’s history from the 1920s to the 1990s. The book was originally written in Arabic, but you can also get a hold of an English translation (courtesy of Peter Daniel). We found it at Diwan Bookstore, if you fancy a physical copy.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Hot hot hot… Friday will see daytime highs of 39°C, Saturday of 40°C, and Sunday a whooping 42°C, our favorite weather app tells us. Even the nighttime has become hotter with the mercury in the range of 24-25°C (and rising the days afterwards).

How Egypt’s economic diplomacy fostered multilateralism and international cooperation: In 2020, the International Cooperation Ministry marshaled USD 9.8 bn in finance development projects, with USD 6.7 bn allocated to government projects and USD 3.1 bn going to support the private sector. Next week, International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat will launch her book “Stakeholder Engagement Through Economic Diplomacy”, which provides insight on the economic diplomacy framework Egypt created to foster multilateralism.

The book highlights how successful implementation of economic diplomacy and its three principles can produce powerful synergies, offering a strong basis for future interventions and decisions on fund allocation towards fulfilling the 2030 Agenda.

What exactly is economic diplomacy? Simply put, economic diplomacy entails merging diplomatic skills with economic tools in order to fulfill a country’s economic, political and/or strategic goals. “The functions of economic diplomacy emphasize the interconnection among economic, social and political interests and the active roles of different stakeholders,” Al-Mashat states in her book, which is already available online.

In light of the book launch, Al Mashat talked to Enterprise about the economic diplomacy framework, Egypt’s success story in implementing it and the role of the International Cooperation Ministry in connecting local stakeholders to development aid.

Edited excerpts from our conversation:

Egypt’s economic diplomacy framework is built on three principles: Firstly, holding multi-stakeholder meetings between the ministry, government entities, multilateral and bilateral development partners, private sector and civil society. Secondly, making sure development projects set by these meetings are aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) and with Egypt’s Vision 2030. Lastly, the Global Partnerships Narrative (pdf) focuses on building strong connections and engagements with Egypt’s development partners. The book goes over what these principles are, the theoretical backing of them, and how we implemented what was called upon from the international community.

The ultimate end-goal: “Egypt’s Economic Diplomacy Framework aims to maximize socio-economic returns from international development financing; ensure the alignment of development interventions with national objectives as well as with the SDGs; and enhance the management of development cooperation for better implementation of development projects within Egypt,” the book states.

This is the first time a country leads an aid-to-SDG mapping exercise: Since we are nine years away from 2030, we mapped our financing portfolio from the international community and Egypt’s development partners to the SDGs using robust methodologies. This is the first time that a country has led this exercise, and it is exemplary for other countries to do. Egypt is very substantial in that field because our portfolio currently stands at USD 25 bn.

And the private sector is part of the success story: Part of the finance that we secure as a ministry can also go to the private sector. Whether this financing goes to the government for its projects or to the private sector, they are implemented by Egypt’s private sector.

That’s the beauty of Egypt’s story: The scale of the aid and the projects were so impressive that the private sector has stepped up to implement those projects, and now they can also do that in Africa with development partners.

The map will be launched during the book’s launch: In the book, we talk about the importance of governance, transparency and mapping the financing with SDGs. This shows how transparent Egypt is with all the financing it is getting from the international community.

The book also covers the ministry’s project portfolio until 2020, including infrastructure, housing, transportation, renewable energy, water treatment, education, social programs etc. These are all designed by ministries.

WANT TO HEAR MORE FROM AL MASHAT on ministry’s economic diplomacy efforts? Listen to our Enterprise After Hours podcast interview (runtime: 41:05) on our website | Apple Podcasts | Omny. We’re also available on Spotify, but only for non-MENA accounts. You can also read a summary of the interview here.

Make sure to tune it to the LSE’s discussion “Policy Reform in the Making: Stakeholder Engagement through Economic Diplomacy” on 29 June, from 3PM to 4:15PM (CLT) through this link. Speakers include Al Mashat, chief economist of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and LSE Professor in Practice Erik Berglof, VP and chief economist of the World Bank Group Carmen Reinhart, and director of the LSE Minouche Shafik.

Gov’t cuts minimum mortgage terms in CBE mortgage programs: The minimum term for home mortgages under CBE-supported home lending programs was reduced to five years from a previous seven years, according to a decision by state-run Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund. The move is meant to help homeowners making enough money to pay out mortgages and fully own properties within a shorter period of time. The CBE recently made low-income earners eligible for home loans at a subsidized rate of 3% and a 30-year repayment period under a new EGP 100 bn mortgage finance program, after having previously focussed on middle-income housing in its original scheme.

The EGX30 rose less than 0.1% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.27 bn (0.9% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is down 5.2% YTD.

In the green: Oriental Weavers (+9.2%), Ibnsina Pharma (+1.9%) and Fawry (+1.3%).

In the red: Orascom Investment Holding (-2.2%), Ezz Steel (-1.9%) and TMG Holding (-1.7%).

It appears that the Middle East is still lagging behind the world in women employment in the finance sector at a time when policymakers and companies the world over are thinking harder than ever about promoting workplace inclusivity and ending discrimination.

For the fourth year in a row, the Middle East’s Gender Balance Index score in financial institutions has dropped further in 2021, becoming the only region consistently following a downward trend. Of the 30 central banks worldwide which scored a zero in gender diversity — meaning that they had no women in senior positions — the Middle East houses nine.

But it isn’t just us, as other regions have also seen a backslide over the past 12 months.

The data above comes from the most recent Gender Balance Index, an annual report published by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) that assesses gender diversity in financial institutions around the world. The index allocates points to institutions based on the gender balance of senior staff. These are weighted by seniority, with the greatest number of points handed out for female governors and CEOs. Executive positions have higher weights than non-executive roles, such as monetary policy committee members.

For sure, it’s not all bad: Tunisia is the poster child for diversity in Arab finance. With a female deputy governor and women on the board, the Banque Centrale de Tunisie is ranked sixth of the 144 central banks included in the index. And its sovereign wealth fund, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, is 12th in the world.

Bahrain stands alone as being the only Gulf country to not have disastrous ratings across the board. Of the 72 sovereign wealth funds measured in the report, Mumtalakat Holding is ranked 10th in the world, while the Central Bank of Bahrain is the highest ranked MENA central bank, coming in at no.54 of the 144 banks assessed. “Mumtalakat consistently scores far better than its peers in the Middle East, reflecting the government’s drive towards greater gender equality across all sectors of society,” the report says.

Egypt provides another ray of light: The CBE stands as the region’s second most woman-friendly central bank, up from last year to rank at no.66.

Doing particularly bad is the central bank in Israel ranks 99th in the world, 33 places below Egypt.

Commercial banks: The OMFIF does give props to First Abu Dhabi Bank’s decision this year to promote its deputy CEO Hana Al Rostamani to Group CEO, describing it as a “landmark moment” for the MENA banking sector. Still, but the bank is still one of the lowest-ranked commercial banks in the world, joining Emirati lender Emirates NBD (#49) to rank #44 of the 50 banks in the index. “Al Rostamani needs to be more than just a figurehead: before her promotion, she was the only woman on either FAB’s executive committee or its board of directors,” the report says.

As for sovereign wealth funds: Apart from the two already mentioned, the rest aren’t faring too well. Ranking #49 of 72 SWFs, Dubai World has 10 points, narrowly beating the Kuwait Investment Authority with eight, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the Investment Corporation of Dubai which both have five.

Out of 12 funds with zero women in their executive teams or the boards, seven are from our region. Namely: Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Emirates Investment Authority, Mubadala, Sanabil Investments, Qatar Investment Authority, Oman’s State General Reserve Fund, and the Libyan Investment Authority.

What about the SFE? The report appears to have ignored us: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt doesn’t appear on the index, but with Planning Minister Hala El Said chairing the fund and Neveen El Tahri on the board, it would likely get at least a half-decent score.

Having said all of this: Let’s remind ourselves that the dearth of women at the top of finance is not just a Middle Eastern problem. Although the figures in the MENA region are starker than anywhere else in the world, the lack of women in leadership positions is a reality in every corner of the global financial system. In commercial banks across the world, just 23% of executive committee positions and 15% of c-suite positions are held by women. Just eight of the 72 SWFs have female CEOs, and in central banks, female governors remain few and far between.

One of Rembrandt's biggest paintings just got a bit bigger, thanks to AI: A marriage of art and artificial intelligence has enabled Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum to recreate the Dutch master’s iconic “Night Watch” painting in all its glory, more than three centuries after its four edges were cut so that the masterpiece might fit between two doors at Amsterdam’s city hall, the BBC reports. The printed strips are now hung flush to the sides of the painting in the museum's Gallery of Honor. You can track the entire journey of the rehabilitation of Rembrandt’s painting here.

Covid-19 wasn’t exactly the big break on climate change many hoped it would be: In the early days of the pandemic when travel and industrial manufacturing screeched to a halt speculation that a covid-19 triggered economic slowdown could provide us a chance to reel in GHG emissions ran wild. A little over a year later and it seems that most pandemic driven progress on the climate front has ground to a halt — and by some estimates could worsen — now that factories, shipping and travel are nearly back to “business as usual.”

Less travel, less time at the pump: The slowdown in international travel and commuting ushered in by travel bans and WFH orders brought energy-related pollution down 5.8% globally, marking the largest annual percentage decline since WWII, according to the IEA. Fossil fuel demand fell by 8.6%, and demand for coal saw a 4% y-o-y dip. Interestingly, the slump in oil demand came mostly from reduced road use, which accounted for 50% of the global reduction in CO2 emissions in 2020. Aviation emissions were also dramatically scaled back, showing a 45% reduction y-o-y over the course of 2020, which reached its peak in April when international travel plummeted by some 70% from the same time in the previous year.

It was kind of a good year for renewables and EVs: Use of renewables in global electricity generation reached nearly 28% in 1Q2020, up from 26% in 1Q2019, according to the IEA. Electric vehicle demand shot up by 43%, adding 10 mn new vehicles to roads in 2020.

But despite modest progress in 2020, we’ve reached peak carbon concentration: The atmospheric concentration of carbon hit a new record of 419 parts per mn in June 2021, the highest levels in roughly 4 mn years, according to US research institute the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). What the new data suggests is that the so-called breather provided by the pandemic barely placed a dent in our climate change trajectory.

And the prospects don’t look too promising: Some climate models have estimated that global temperatures will only be around 0.01 C lower by 2030 as a result of covid-19. Other, more optimistic studies have found that if the Paris Agreement national climate targets are fulfilled, annual greenhouse gas emissions will fall by only 1% in 2030.

The problem? We already have way too much carbon in the atmosphere. Keeping emissions constant is not enough, Pieter Tans, a climate scientist with NOAA told Vox. Barring a major change in our lifestyles and economic system, “CO2 would continue to go up at the same rate that we’ve seen in the last decade. Emissions really have to go to zero to stop this problem,” he said.

We’re unlikely to hit that 1.5 C warming target without significant structural change. To keep temperature rise to 1.5 C countries need to cut their global emissions by 7.6% every year for the next decade which will require a complete overhaul of our energy, food and transportation systems, according to a United Nations Environment Programme report. With the World Meteorological Organization, updating its forecast in May to a 44% chance that the Earth will hit 1.5 C warming at some point in the next five years, global coal demand slated to grow by 60% this year, and China's 1Q2021 emissions of CO2 rising 9% above their pre pandemic levels, we’re likely to see a carbon intensive recovery before major economies pull their acts together.

Egypt has been making efforts to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, and is partaking in a recent USD 200 mn World Bank-funded program that aims to modernize air quality monitoring systems. Egypt produced 310 mn tonnes of greenhouse gas in 2016, almost 10% of MENA’s 3.3 bn tonnes with our emissions growing at three times the global average rate, by 140% between 1990 and 2016. In order to curb our contribution to climate change, we need to drastically cut emissions, but we will have to strike a delicate balancing act between our climate and growth goals.

22-27 June (Tuesday-Sunday): The CIB PSA World Tour Finals for 2020-2021 will take place in Cairo.

24 June (Thursday): End of the 2020-2021 academic year (public schools).

26 June (Saturday): International Cooperation Ministry and Egypt Ventures’ Generation Next entrepreneurship conference, Cairo, Egypt

26-29 June (Saturday-Tuesday): The Big 5 Construct Egypt, Cairo International Convention Center, Cairo, Egypt. The Big 5 Egypt Impact Awards will also be taking place at the event on 27 June.

29 June (Tuesday): London School of Economics (LSE) discussion “Policy Reform in the Making: Stakeholder Engagement through Economic Diplomacy” from 3pm-4:15pm. You can register through this link.

30 June (Wednesday): The IMF will complete a second review of targets set under the USD 5.2 bn standby loan approved in June 2020 (proposed date).

30 June (Wednesday): 30 June Revolution Day.

30 June- 15 July: The Cairo International Book Fair, Egypt International Exhibition Center.

July + August: Thanaweya Amma exams take place.

1 July: (Thursday): National holiday in observance of 30 June Revolution.

1 July (Thursday): Large taxpayers that have not yet signed on to the e-invoicing platform will suffer a host of penalties, including removal from large taxpayer classification, losing access to government services and business, and losing subsidies.

1 July (Thursday): Businesses importing goods at seaports will need to file shipping documents and cargo data digitally to the Advance Cargo Information (ACI) system.

1 July (Thursday): Deadline for 17 EGX-listed companies to file their 1Q2021 earnings.

1-10 July (Thursday-Saturday): The government’s fuel pricing committee will meet to announce 3Q prices.

4 July (Sunday): Ismailia Economic Court to hold hearing on Ever Given compensation case.

Mid-July: Legislative session expected to end.

19 July (Monday): Arafat Day (national holiday).

20-23 July (Tuesday-Friday): Eid Al Adha (national holiday).

23 July (Friday): Revolution Day (national holiday).

2-4 August (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt is hosting the Africa Food Manufacturing exhibition at the Egypt International Exhibition Center.

5 August (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

9 August (Monday): Islamic New Year.

12 August (Thursday): National holiday in observance of the Islamic New Year.

12-15 September (Sunday-Wednesday): Sahara Expo: the 33rd International Agricultural Exhibition for Africa and the Middle East.

16 September (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

30 September-2 October (Thursday-Saturday): Egypt Projects 2021 expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt.

30 September-8 October (Thursday-Friday): The Cairo International Fair, Cairo International Conference Center, Cairo, Egypt.

1 October (Friday): Expo 2020 Dubai opens.

6 October (Wednesday): Armed Forces Day.

7 October (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Armed Forces Day.

12-14 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Mediterranean Offshore Conference, Alexandria, Egypt.

18 October (Monday): Prophet’s Birthday.

21 October (Thursday): National holiday in observance of the Prophet’s Birthday.

24-28 October (Sunday-Thursday) Cairo Water Week, Cairo, Egypt.

27-28 October (Wednesday-Thursday) Intelligent Cities Exhibition & Conference, Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski, Cairo, Egypt.

28 October (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

1-3 November (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt Energy exhibition on power and renewable energy, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt.

November: Egypt will host another round of talks to reach a potential Egyptian-Eurasian trade agreement, which can significantly contribute to increasing the volume of Egyptian exports to the Russia-led bloc that includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

1-12 November (Monday-Friday): 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Glasgow, United Kingdom.

29 November-2 December (Monday-Thursday): Egypt Defense Expo.

12-14 December (Sunday-Tuesday): Food Africa Cairo trade exhibition, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt.

13-17 December: United Nations Convention against Corruption, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

16 December (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

14-16 February 2022 (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt Petroleum Show, Egypt International Exhibition Center, New Cairo, Egypt.

1H2022: The World Economic Forum annual meeting, location TBD.

May 2022: Investment in Logistics Conference, Cairo, Egypt.

27 June-3 July 2022 (Monday-Sunday): World University Squash Championships, New Giza.

**Note to readers: Some national holidays may appear twice above. Since 2020, Egypt has observed most mid-week holidays on Thursdays regardless of the day on which they fall and may also move those days to Sundays. We distinguish below between the actual holiday and its observance.