On the horizon
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Egypt in the coming months, Paris’ ambassador to Cairo said in a speech on the occasion of Bastille Day last Friday (runtime 22:29). Ambassador Stéphane Romatet hit all the right notes on security cooperation and noted that France is backing Egypt’s economic reform program.
Egypt and Romania are expected to sign MoUs on investment, SMEs, agriculture, water resources and irrigation, oil and gas, and tourism, according to a statement from the Investment and International Cooperation Ministry. The agreements will be signed during meetings scheduled to take place in Bucharest on 26-28 July. The Egyptian-Romanian Business Council hopes to see Egypt’s exports to Romania grow to USD 5 bn annually within five years, up from USD 500 mn per year today, deputy president Ahmed El Sokkary said, Al Mal reports.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is heading to Khartoum at the end of the month, Sudanese ambassador to Cairo Abdel Mahmoud Abdel Halim said, according to Al Mal. The tête-à-tête comes as Sudanese FM Ibrahim Ghandour has been downplaying tensions between both countries. Earlier reports suggested that Sudan might reconsider its ban on imports from Egypt, but we’ve seen no action on that front yet.