French Development Agency to give Egypt EUR 31 mn for healthcare development: The Health Ministry signed an MoU with the French Development Agency that will see the latter fund the development of 709 medical facilities ahead of the implementation of the Universal Healthcare Act, Minister Ahmed Rady said on Thursday, Al Borsa reports. The new healthcare system, which is currently with the House of Representatives for review, is expected to rollout in early 2018. An announcement on the pricing scheme should be coming this week, Rady had previously said.

This comes as the US government has agreed to give Egypt a USD 30 mn grant to support the government’s entrepreneurship fund and youth training programs, Investment Minister Sahar Nasr announced on Thursday, Al Shorouk reports. Nasr’s statement came on the sidelines of the Business Council for International Understanding’s Competitiveness and Investment Forum, which saw in attendance executives from 40 major US corporations who are in Egypt to explore potential investment, a statement said.

Six US pharma companies are already looking to expand their existing investments in Egypt, top executives from Abbott, Pfizer, MSD, Sanofi, Gilead Sciences and PhRMA told Nasr at a Thursday Gilead Senior Director Graeme Robertson suggested Egypt could be used as an export hub. The executives are set to meet with Health Minister Ahmed Radi soon to further discuss their plans, according to Nasr. Other companies, including General Electric and snackmaker Mars are already working on expansions, she added.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain on Saturday at a forum in Sir Bani Yas in Abu Dhabi, according to an official statement. The meeting discussed the latest developments with Qatar as well as other regional security issues. Shoukry also met with the Algerian foreign minister and UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salama to discuss the situation in Libya. Capping off his meetings was a discussion with Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano about bilateral relations between Egypt and Italy.