Good afternoon, friends. We’re just a few short hours away from the long weekend here in Egypt — we hope those of you getting time off enjoy it, considering we won’t get another holiday for a while.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

El Sisi signs cooperation MoUs with India during New Delhi trip: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed today several MoUs for cooperation in tech, cybersecurity, youth, sports, and broadcasting, according to an Ittihadiya statement. The two leaders signed the agreements at the Hyderabad Palace in New Delhi as El Sisi on the second day of his three-day visit to India, where he is being honored as “chief guest” at celebrations to mark India's 74th Republic Day tomorrow. The two leaders discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations, boost investments in various sectors, and increase the volume of trade between the countries, as well as regional and international issues.

El Sisi also met with several Indian ministers, officials and businessmen to pitch economic and trade cooperation, including increasing Indian investments in Egypt, according to a separate statement. El Sisi pointed to the Suez Canal Economic Zone, which includes a number of industrial and logistical zones, as a promising opportunity for Indian companies wanting to benefit from Egypt’s strategic location and trade agreements with several nations. Indian officials expressed their interest in growing the two countries’ trade of agricultural products.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Germany has agreed to send battle tanks to Ukraine out of its own military stocks, after months of deliberation and hand-wringing that Germany’s decision to supply Ukraine with military tools would stoke the fire with Russia. The story is leading the conversation in the international business press this afternoon: Reuters | CNBC | Wall Street Journal | Financial Times

HAPPENING NOW-

Cairo Book Fair kicks off: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly inaugurated the Cairo International Book Fair earlier today, according to a statement. The fair opens to the public tomorrow at the Egypt International Exhibition Center and runs through 9 February.

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

• SFE + B Investments to co-invest in healthcare, pharma: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) and B Investments will together invest in Egypt’s healthcare and pharma industries under two agreements that could channel more than EGP 2 bn into local businesses.
• Affirma Capital, StonePine close acquisition of minority stake in pharma player Nerhadou: A private equity consortium of Affirma Capital and StonePine has closed its acquisition of a “significant minority stake” in local pharma and nutraceutical player Nerhadou International in a USD 20 mn transaction.
• Merger with NewMed looks dead after Capricorn directors quit en masse: The chair, CEO, and three other directors of Capricorn Energy’s board have resigned, caving to pressure from shareholders led by activist investor Palliser Capital to overhaul the company’s management and block a proposed merger with Israeli energy firm NewMed Energy.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

EBRD + EU + GCF green finance event next week: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the EU, the Green Economic Financing Facility, and the Green Climate Fund will hold a green finance event on Tuesday, 31 January at the Nile Ritz Carlton Hotel.

The Senate is set to reconvene on Sunday, 5 February, having yesterday completed two days of plenary sessions that saw members discuss tourism promotion and education reform.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect a partially sunny long weekend with daytime highs of 22-27°C and nighttime lows of 12-15°C, our favorite weather app tells us.