Back to the complete issue
Sunday, 1 November 2020

Diplomacy + Foreign Trade on 1 November 2020

Topping diplomatic coverage this morning: Our campaign to deepen ties with Iraq. Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly met with Iraq’s president and signed 15 MoUs with his Iraqi counterpart Mustafa Al Kadhimi during a visit to Baghdad yesterday, a cabinet statement said. The agreements cover everything from oil and water resources to construction, transportation, environmental protection, as well an exchange of expertise in the stock market and judiciary, the statement said.

The two countries also agreed to establish an “oil-for-reconstruction” mechanism that could see Egyptian companies work on development projects in Iraq in return for importing Iraqi oil, the local press reports, citing statements made by the prime minister during the committee’s meeting, without providing additional detail.

Other takeaways from the meeting:

  • Egypt is looking to increase exports to the Iraqi market;
  • Potential links of our electricity, oil and gas distribution networks are on the table;
  • Cooperation on water security;
  • The two chambers of commerce want to do more together.

Egypt, Iraq eye joint logistics + energy projects with Jordan: Egypt is looking at setting up a logistics zone to store Egyptian goods on the Jordanian-Iraqi border, as well as a separate commercial center for Egyptian wares in Baghdad, International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat said on Friday at preparatory meetings ahead of the committee meeting, according to a ministry statement. A shared electricity grid between Egypt and Iraq and a trilateral oil and gas pipeline between the three countries was also on the agenda for a separate meeting Al Mashat had with Iraqi Planning Minister Khaled Battal, according to a statement.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with the Russian deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, on Friday in Moscow, a Foreign Ministry statement said. Topping the agenda were discussions of the Russian industrial zone project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the construction of the Dabaa nuclear station, and the political settlement for the Libyan crisis. Bogdanov also expressed his country's hope that Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan will reach an agreement over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

IN OTHER NEWS: Egypt’s fiscal response to covid-19 earned praise from newly-appointed IMF executive board member Mahmoud Mohieldin in a meeting with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, according to a cabinet statement, and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt-Gen. Mohamed Farid met with Sudan’s defence minister and chief of staff in Khartoum on Saturday to discuss security cooperation, an armed forces statement said on Saturday.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.