President Abdel Fattah El Sisi announced a number of decisions aimed at improving living standards in Upper Egypt at the National Youth Conference held in Aswan over the weekend. These include establishing the High Authority for the Development of Southern Egypt which will be responsible for developing programs to tackle unemployment, upgrading services, and preserving Nubian heritage, with investments of EGP 5 bn over the next five years. El Sisi also pledged to establish industrial zones for SMEs, expanding Egypt’s social safety net through the Takaful and Karama programs, and establishing Aswan as an economic and African cultural capital, Al Ahram reports. On the overall economy, the president repeated that Egypt will see improved conditions, but “after a lot of time,” and stressed on the importance of domestic production in reining in prices, according to Al Masry Al Youm. El Sisi added that the government is targeting support for import-dependent industries, Al Borsa reports. You can also read the transcript of El Sisi’s speech at the conference here (Arabic).

His speech follows two others on the anniversary of 25 January, where he delved deeper into social issues, specifically, the country’s high divorce rate. El Sisi proposed drafting a law that would ban the ages-long practice of verbal divorce and necessitate the presence of a cleric to officiate it (watch, runtime 1:15). El Sisi emphasized how Egypt is on the right track and will continue to work towards economic, political, and social development (watch, runtime 6:16). The speech stressed that Egypt is fighting a battle against terrorism and corruption, and an even greater battle for reform and development.