Good morning, ladies and gents. Before we dive into another busy news day, we have an announcement to make:

We are delighted to share with you that the Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum will be taking place on Monday, 15 May at the Four Seasons Hotel at Nile Plaza.

DO YOU WANT TO ATTEND? The first wave of invites is going out soon. If you’re a C-suite exec, exporter, investor, official, banker, or someone who should be part of the conversation, please TAP OR CLICK HERE to request a spot at this exclusive event.

What’s the Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum? It is the latest in our series of must-attend, invitation-only gatherings for C-suite-level business leaders. The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum will discuss the critical topics of exports and foreign direct investment (FDI) in Egypt.

We will be taking an in-depth look into some of the most vital industry topics, including:

• How to effectively break into new export markets
• How to leverage domestic trends in order to create export opportunities
• What foreign investors are looking for
• What the government’s role should be

Why now? Exports and foreign direct investment (FDI) have never been more important to our economy — or our businesses — than in the wake of the float of the EGP. We think we have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build an export-led economy that makes us a magnet for FDI, and all the benefits that will come with it for our nation.

Think of the Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum as a hands-on lab for how to turn the devaluation of the EGP into something that will turbocharge your company and our economy.

Who’s on board? Some of the biggest names in business and finance are on board — are you? If you’d like to partner with us on the conference, ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial, here.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY-

Madbouly, key cabinet members in Qatar: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly arrived in Doha yesterday evening and was met by Qatar’s transport minister on arrival, the cabinet and Qatar News Agency said. The prime minister is visiting the Gulf country to accelerate talks for sought fresh Qatari investment in Egypt, which have failed to make progress in recent weeks.

Accompanying the PM: The finance, planning, health, and trade and industry ministers, as well as the heads of the Suez Canal Economic Zone and GAFI are part of the delegation, cabinet said. His visit comes a few weeks after Planning Minister Hala El Said and Sovereign Fund of Egypt head Ayman Soliman visited the Gulf country to discuss investment.

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Shoukry in Syria + Turkey: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is visiting Syria and Turkey today in what the ministry said was to “deliver a message of solidarity” following the earthquakes earlier this month. The ministry provided little information about the trip, though talk show host Ahmed Moussa suggested that Shoukry could meet personally with President Bashar Al Assad while in Damascus (watch, runtime: 7:18). While in Turkey, Shoukry will hold talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and visit the southern province of Adana where a shipment of Egyptian aid is expected to arrive, the Turkish foreign ministry said.

A month of firsts: Shoukry will be the first Egyptian foreign minister to visit Syria in more than a decade, a trip that comes a few weeks after President El Sisi spoke to Assad for the first time in the wake of the disaster.

Assad in from the cold: Shoukry’s trip to Damascus comes a day after a delegation of senior Arab lawmakers visited the Syrian capital to discuss bringing the country back into the Arab League. Egyptian House Speaker Hanafi El Gibali was among the visitors, becoming the highest-ranking Egyptian official to travel to Syria in more than a decade, according to the Associated Press.

REMEMBER- Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 after Assad’s government brutally suppressed demonstrations against his rule. The rebellion escalated into a brutal civil war that ravaged the country.

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The House is back in session: The House will discuss and vote on bills that will extend the government’s expat car import scheme and exempt phone components from being charged development fees. It will also discuss and vote on three foreign agreements on human rights, economic governance, and the Montreal Protocol, an environmental pact. Meanwhile, the House Industrial Committee will review the government’s industrial strategy.

TOMORROW- Social Solidarity Minister Nevine El Qabbaj will be in the hot seat to answer questions from MPs on pensions, social protection programs, and services offered to disabled people.

You can forget about these bills for a while: Amendments to the Investment Act, the draft Unified Ins. and Labor acts , the new building violation reconciliation law, and the bill to establish the Digital Egypt Fund aren’t expected to head to the House any time soon, officials say.

• Unified Ins. Act in limbo: There has been no progress on the Unified Ins. Act since at least January, according to officials on the House Economic Committee. The government is currently amending the legislation, which was passed by the Senate last April.
• Ditto the draft Labor Act: The legislation — passed by the Senate over a year ago — is undergoing a revision in response to objections from both the business community and labor unions.
• We’re waiting on those Investment Act amendments: It is unknown when amendments to the Investment Act designed to attract more FX into the country will be voted on in the House. Senators approved the bill in November.
• Digital Egypt Fund bill MIA: The legislation has been in the House since January but there are no signs that it will be put up for discussion any time soon. The bill has been in the works for over a year, and was given the greenlight by the House Communications Committee last month and the Senate in December.
• Building reconciliation bill lost in the ether: The House Housing Committee approved in December the new bill that will make it easier for owners of illegal buildings to go legit, but it remains unknown when it will head to the general assembly for a vote.

SIGN OF THE TIMES- Another one bites the dust: Digital money circle (AKA gameya) provider MoneyMaster is winding down operations less than two years after launching, Al Mal reports, citing a company statement. The startup’s legal team will carry out the liquidation process and pay customers their dues before it shuts down. The Egypt-born company kicked off operations in 2021.

Tough times on Planet Startup: Emirati buy now, pay later firm Tabby last week said it would suspend its operations in Egypt six months after entering the country due to the challenging economic conditions. The news follows struggles at a number of more high-profile startups, including last year’s implosion of Capiter.

THIS WEEK-

Egypt-UN Partnership week is taking place ahead of the signing of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2023-2027. International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat visited a refugee support center in Alexandria run by Caritas with UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt Elena Panova yesterday.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

No single story is dominating the conversation on the global front pages this morning, though the latest from Ukraine is occupying most of the column space. Bloomberg leads with the Saudi foreign minister’s surprise visit to Kyiv, Reuters covers Washington’s latest warning to Beijing against providing arms to Russia while the New York Times says that the war has ended the European continent as we knew it.

US to back “China did it” covid theory? The US Energy Department now believes that the covid-19 pandemic occurred due to a lab leak after obtaining classified intelligence regarding its origins, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported yesterday. The department has until now held back from endorsing the idea that the virus was a creation of Chinese scientists but now says with “low confidence” that an accidental lab leak is the most likely cause of the pandemic, rather than natural transmission as Beijing maintains. Republican lawmakers have jumped on the reports and are calling for action to be taken against China.

When your boss realizes you’re using ChatGPT: JPMorgan Chase has restricted its staff’s use of ChatGPT’s AI bot, an anonymous employee told Bloomberg. The decision was made in line with the bank’s rules on third-party software, rather than in response to a specific incident involving use of the AI, the source said.

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Egypt is going to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup: The Pharaohs qualified for the international competitions with two matches still to play after beating Tunisia 71-67 in Alexandria on Friday. The victory sees Egypt return to the tournament after a nine-year absence. The FIBA World Cup will run from 5 August until 10 September.

ICYMI-

Missed this week’s Inside Industry? In our weekly vertical exploring all things industry and manufacturing, we looked at the government’s plans to revitalize the spinning and weaving industry.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The AUC Business Forum continues today and runs through to Tuesday. The event features five roundtables on the changing role of business schools and how to remain relevant and impactful in society, with a lineup of scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and executives from Egypt and abroad. You can follow the forum as it unfolds on the AUC School of Business Facebook page.

Oil Minister Tarek El Molla will be guest of honor at a dinner organized by the British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA Egypt) next month. The event will take place on Monday, 13 March at Cairo Marriott Hotel.

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

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed.

In today’s issue: Private education players — from K-12 outfits to higher ed — are shelving construction plans amid worries over costs of raw materials and financing.