Day: February 3, 2023

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MIKATI MEETS MAKARY, CHAIRS MEETING OF MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE TASKED TO FOLLOW UP ON REPERCUSSIONS OF FINANCIAL CRISIS

Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, will be chairing a meeting by the ministerial committee tasked to follow up on the repercussions of the financial crisis on the activity of state institutions.

The meeting will take place at 12:30 pm on Friday at the Grand Serail.

Earlier on Friday, the Prime Minister had an audience with Minister of Information, Ziad Makary, with whom he broached an array of ministerial affairs, as well as the situation of “Tele Liban”.

Mikati also met with a delegation from the Tobacco Administration “Regie” headed by its Director General, Nassif Seqlawi.

The Prime Minister later welcomed the Lebanese Ambassador to Egypt and the League of Arab States, Ali Al-Halabi.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

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Wazir reviews success of Egyptian national projects, opportunities of continental partnership in Dakar Summit

Minister of Transport Kamel El Wazir asserted that Egypt’s success in implementing strategic projects and its great achievements in the various transport sectors over the past phase amounted to EGP 2 trillions from June, 2014, till June 2024, in addition to establishing the new Suez Canal to allow ships’ transit in both ways and decrease the passage time to 11 hours only.

Addressing the 2nd Dakar Financing Summit for Africa’s Infrastructure Development (DFS-2) on Thursday, Wazir pointed out to the regional and continental projects such as the Cairo-Cape Town Road, Egypt/Chad Road passing through Sudan, the railway line with Sudan, the navigational line between Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea (VICMED) and the upgrade of Matrouh/Saloum railway line to extend to Libya’s Benighazi and increase the volume of trade exchange along with other logistic projects to serve neighboring countries.

He reviewed Egypt’s expertise to provide the necessary fund for such projects in cooperation with development partners from friendly countries as well as the international financial institutions including the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), among others.

The minister asserted the importance of the government and private sectors in partnership with foreign parties to implement strategic projects along with partnership projects between the State and the Egyptian private sector.

He also briefed attendees on the transport sector’s role in the green transition, the use of clean energy to reduce carbon emissions as well as Egypt’s hosting of the UN Climate Conference (COP27) and its positive outcome and plan of action, in addition to the establishment of environment risks management fund.

Wazir also tackled Egypt’s efforts to fund VICMED and the fund of its feasibility studies with dlrs 500,000 along with coordination with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to fund the first phase of the studies with dlrs 650,000, noting that an agreement is soon about to be finalized between Egypt and AfDB to provide dlrs 2 million to fund the second phase of the feasibility studies of the project.

He also said the mega projects which have been carried out in Egypt since 2014 and the specialized companies which have overseen the implementation are fully ready to help the African brethren in implement all infrastructure projects under the supervision of the Egyptian consultative offices.

The session was attended by Uganda finance minister, Djibouti minister of economy and finance, Comoros minister of infrastructure as well as a galaxy of African ministers and officials.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

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Communications min. inaugurates premises of Swedish Transcom company in Egypt

Communications and IT Minister Amr Talaat inaugurated the premises of Transcom, the Swedish outsourcing company which provides customer care, sales, technical support, and collections services, in Egypt.

The opening ceremony was attended by Swedish Ambassador to Egypt Hakan Emsgard.

During the inauguration, the minister affirmed that the opening of a premises for the Swedish company in Egypt represents an addition to the Egyptian-Swedish cooperation in the communications and IT sector.

The opening also comes as part of the ministry’s strategy to expand in the outsourcing industry through luring global companies to set up specialized centers in Egypt, added the minister.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

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EVER ACME container ship crosses Suez Canal

The latest and largest container ship in the world, EVER ACME crossed the new Suez Canal on Friday, on its trip from Malaysia to the Netherlands, said Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Osama Rabie.

According to the protocol followed by the SCA in dealing with giant ships crossing the canal for the first time, the SCA’s chairman delegated two captains to board the container ship EVER ACME and welcome its crew, handing a souvenir to the captain of the ship, Rabie said in a statement on Friday.

Rabie, meanwhile, stressed that the successive transit of the latest and largest container ship through the Suez Canal is a testament to the waterway’s ability to receive the current and future generations of the global fleet of container ships.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

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Egypt, Hungary discuss cooperation in project to supply 1,350 train cars to ENR

International Cooperation Minister Rania el Mashat discussed in a meeting with CEO of Hungarian Export-Import Bank Kornel Kisgergely means of cementing joint cooperation in a project to supply 1,350 railway wagons to the Egyptian National Railways (ENR).

This comes as part of the State’s strategy for developing the transport sector, as well as enhancing cooperation in the localization of this vital industry.

Mashat lauded the ongoing project for equipping the ENR with Hungarian railway wagons, as it falls within the framework of the State’s efforts to upgrade transport services.

Egypt signed a financing agreement worth nearly one billion euros with the Hungarian Export-Import Bank to provide 1,350 railway coaches, where some 659 train cars have so far been supplied to the ENR.

Mashat and Kisgergely probed the possibility of dispatching Egyptian engineers to receive training on Hungarian railway technology.

In this regard, the international cooperation minister underlined the importance of manufacturing locomotives and revamping the railway lines, in addition to modernizing railroad workshops.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

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Iraq ranks 15th in the Arab Economies Competitiveness Index

Baghdad, The Arab Monetary Fund revealed that Iraq ranked 15th in the Arab Economies Competitiveness Index.

In the Arab Economies Competitiveness Report 2022, it was stated that the UAE maintained the first place in the Arab economies competitiveness index, as a result of its acquisition of the first place in the investment environment and attractiveness index.

It added that Qatar came in second place in the general index of competitiveness of Arab economies, while Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Sultanate of Oman and Bahrain ranked third, fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

The statement indicated that Morocco came seventh, Jordan eighth, Tunisia ninth, and Egypt tenth.

Algeria ranked 11th, Mauritania 12th, Lebanon 13th, Libya 14th, Iraq 15th, Yemen 16th and Sudan 17th.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

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CANADA MONITORING POTENTIAL SECOND INCIDENT OF SUSPECTED ‘SPY BALLOON’

Canada’s national defence confirmed on Friday a potential second incident of a suspected spy balloon and said that officials are monitoring it.

“A high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected and its movements are being actively tracked by [North American Aerospace Defense Command] NORAD,” the national defence said in a statement.

“Canadians are safe and Canada is taking steps to ensure the security of its airspace, including the monitoring of a potential second incident,” the statement added.

Officials from NORAD, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Department of National Defence, and other partners have been assessing the situation and working in close coordination, it said.

The national defence command said that the Canadian intelligence agencies are working with American partners and “continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard Canada’s sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats”.

“We remain in frequent contact with our American allies as the situation develops,” the national defence said.

This alert from Canadian defence officials comes just hours after the US military said it is tracking a suspected Chinese high-altitude spy balloon as it makes its way over the northern United States.

Pentagon spokesperson brigadier general Patrick Ryder said the US has so far decided against shooting down the surveillance balloon.

“The balloon is currently travelling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground,” Mr Ryder said.

A senior defense official told Pentagon reporters that the US has “very high confidence” it is a Chinese high-altitude balloon and it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information.

The balloon was spotted over Montana, among of the places, where one of the US’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.

Estimated to be the size of three buses, the suspected spy balloon was spotted over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday. It entered the US after flying in over the Aleutian Islands and made its way through Canada.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

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KAZAKH FM PAYS FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO BAHRAIN

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi paid an official visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The Bahraini side attached special importance to the first visit of the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Minister was received by the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, to whom he conveyed warm greetings and wishes on behalf of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Tileuberdi introduced the interlocutor to the new stage of political and economic modernization of Kazakhstan.

In turn, the King highly appreciated the pace of modern development of Kazakhstan and expressed support for the reforms of the President Tokayev carried out for the benefit of the Kazakh people.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

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CHINA SAYS IT’S LOOKING INTO SUSPECTED SPY BALLOON OVER U.S.

China urged calm Friday and said that it was looking into reports of a high-altitude surveillance balloon suspected of belonging to Beijing hovering over the United States, while Canada said it was monitoring a “potential second incident.”

U.S. officials said Thursday the military was monitoring the balloon, which flew over the Aleutian Islands and through Canada before being spotted Wednesday over Billings, Montana. A senior defense official said the U.S. was confident that the balloon belonged to China, which has flown stratospheric balloons over the country before but not usually for this long.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing was assessing the situation and that speculation and hype were unhelpful while facts were still being clarified.

“China is a responsible country that always abides by international law and has no intention of infringing on any country’s territory and airspace,” Mao said at a daily briefing.

“We hope that both sides can handle this together calmly and carefully,” she added.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

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Participants in CIBF: Egypt ranks 23rd in world’s cyber-attacks & cyber security readiness

Participants in the 54th edition of Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) said that Egypt ranks 23rd in the world’s cyber-attacks and cyber security readiness.

This came during a symposium, titled “Cyber Security”, which was held on Friday on the sidelines of the CIBF.

The symposium was attended by Walid Zakaria and Samir Gaber from the Egyptian Computer Emergency Readiness Team (EG-CERT) at the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA).

Nearly 1,047 publishing houses from 53 countries participates in the 54th edition of the Cairo International Book Fair. The fair sees Jordan as the guest of honor.

Late Egyptian poet Salah Jaheen was chosen as this edition’s personality, while Egyptian writer Kamel Kilani, who is one of the pioneers of children’s literature across the Arab world, was selected as the personality of the children’s book fair.

Source: State Information Service Egypt