CAIRO – 19 May 2022: Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shokry received Thursday a phone call from his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba to discuss bilateral relations and developments of the Russia-Ukraine War. The Ukrainian minister displayed updates on the field and humanitarian scales in light of the ongoing military conflict. Minister Shokry, foreign ministers of the Arab Contact Group on the Ukrainian Crisis and Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Abul Gheit held a meeting in April with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Warsaw. The ministerial delegation had headed to Moscow earlier within a tour held by the Arab League's Ukrainian crisis liaison. The group, which includes representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Sudan and the UAE, was formed out of the 157th session of the Council of the Arab League in March.

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Monday that all works related to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will be completed on September 30, in preparation for its opening. All the interior finishes, the commercial area, and the display areas will be completed by September 30, 2022. This comes within the framework of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities’ endeavor to provide a unique and exceptional experience for visitors of the Grand Egyptian Museum to learn about the ancient Egyptian civilization by visiting the museum and its attached service area in accordance with the best international standards. The Grand Egyptian Museum includes 12 exhibition halls. The museum will contain 100,000 artifacts, including 5,000 artifacts belonging to King Tutankhamun, including 2,000 artifacts fir the golden king displayed for the first time.

CAIRO – 19 May 2022: The Egyptian Population Watch recorded Thursday 103,346,795, showing an increase of 96,795 in less than a month compared to April 26. Egypt's Population Record hit in April 103,250,000 with an increase of 250,0000, in just two months, up from 103 million on February 22. Equally, the rate of population increase must be compatible with the economy's ability to achieve a high level of human development, and reduce unemployment. He added that the government should benefit from the political leadership's desire to reduce the annual population increase from over two million to 400,000 by formulating and implementing relevant effective strategies. Hassan had stated in October that the Egyptian population grew by half a million in the previous 100 days.

According to head of the Commercial Office in Kuala Lumpur, Hany Ezzat, the trade exchange between Egypt and Malaysia increased by 81 percent during 2021, reaching $809.849 million, compared to $495.261 million in 2020. Ezzat explained that the trade balance between the two countries comes in favor of Malaysia with a value of $459.465 million during 2021, compared to $296.234 million in 2020, marking a growth of 55 percent. He pointed out that there was a boom in Egyptian exports to Malaysia during 2021, to reach $219.5 million, compared to $99.5 million in 2020, marking an increase of 121 percent. Egyptian imports from Malaysia increased 72 percent in 2021 to $678,978 million, compared to $395,747 million in 2020. Source: egypttoday.com

CAIRO – 19 May 2022: Alexandria Criminal Court ruled Wednesday to refer the case in which the defendant Abdel Rahman el-Nahr accused of murdering Priest Arsanios Wadeed to the Grand Mufti for religious advisory on death sentence. Grand Mufti’s opinion is not binding; however, the court resorts to take religious advise on death penalties issued in any case. Residents of Muharram Bey street in Alexandria reportedly seized the man who attacked the priest, and the weapon. On April 8, the man who attacked the priest was detained pending investigations by Egypt’s Attorney general, Hamada El Sawy. Egypt’s Prosecutor General Hamada el Sawy ordered referring the man accused of killing Priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Alexandria Arsanious Wadeed to the criminal court for trial.

CAIRO – 19 May 2022: Egypt welcomed on Wednesday the successful organization of Somali elections that ended up by declaring Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the new president of the country. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also welcomed in a statement Monday the election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the Somali president. OIC Secretary-General Hussein Ibrahim Taha congratulated the elected Somali president, wishing him success in attaining the aspirations of the Somali people, according to Saudi Press Agency. In a cable, the AL chief congratulated Mohamud on winning a confidence vote by Somali parliamentarians Sunday and wished him success. He voiced appreciation for efforts exerted by former Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo during his term in office

CAIRO – 18 May 2022: More than 2.14 million tons of wheat has been collected from farmers so far in Egypt, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said on Wednesday. During a meeting for the Cabinet in the New Administrative Capital, Madbouli said the wheat supply system is operating with high efficiency. He noted that the authorities closely follow up on this file and the measures taken to pay the dues of the farmers who supply the required wheat. According to Kersh, the Egyptian state is now reclaiming 3.6 million feddans to increase wheat production. Egypt is currently suffering from a crisis of wheat supply from the conflicting Russia and Ukraine, the two biggest wheat importers to Egypt.

The completion of the ownership transfer process, the management of the concession area will be transferred to Shell, according to the company, which noted that the agreement is subject to the approval of the relevant government and regulatory agencies. On the sidelines of the agreement, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Shell companies in Egypt, Khaled Kassem, stated that the conclusion of this important agreement confirms Shell's strong commitment to Egypt. Kassem explained that the proximity of the new concession area to the company's current assets and other exploration areas owned by Shell in the same area will contribute to accelerating the pace of the company's ambitions in the offshore areas. The addition of the Northeast Amreya concession area to the production is an important and influential step towards achieving Egypt's growth strategy. In 2020, BG Delta, wholly owned by Shell, acquired the rights to operate the North Sidi Gaber concession area (Area 4) and North El Fanar (Area 6) located west of the Nile Delta in the Mediterranean, in partnership with BJD PICL Egypt Ltd.

(CNN) – Ukrainian forces have completed their “combat mission” in Mariupol, according to a statement by the country’s military, bringing the months-long battle for the besieged city close to an end. Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar described the evacuation operation in a separate video statement, noting that some Ukrainian forces remain at Azovstal. According to Malyar, the defense of Mariupol meant Russian forces were not able to transfer about 20,000 personnel to other regions of Ukraine, and thus failed to capture Zaporizhzhia. But Ukrainian fighters in the city had, in April, vowed to “fight until the end,” despite being surrounded, low on ammunition and outnumbered by Russian forces. The country’s Azov Regiment on Monday also issued a statement saying “the entire Mariupol garrison” was following orders to save lives.

Meeting of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli with the representatives of Stellantis at Cabinet’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt on May 18, 2022. Press PhotoCAIRO – 18 May 2022: In light of its desire to build an electric car factory in Egypt, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli received Tuesday the representatives of Stellantis, the French company that owns the brands of Peugeot, Citroen and Chrysler among others, as well as those of its agent in Egypt. The representative of Stellantis Samir Shefran said that the company wants to benefit from the incentives offered by Egypt in the automotive sector. The prime minister checked in December the model of an electric car produced by General Motors, and is expected to be offered in the Egyptian market in 2022. The prime minister had held a meeting with them earlier with the attendance of Minister of Finance Mohamed Mait, and Minister of Industry and Trade Nevine Gamea.

The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek al-Mulla said on Tuesday that Egyptian gas exports to Europe range from 10 to 15 percent. In an interview with CNBC Arabia, on the sidelines of the third conference on energy efficiency in the petroleum sector, Mulla added that the gas is sufficient for the consumption of the local market, noting that Egypt aims to boost gas exports to European markets. With regard to the petroleum trade balance: the minister indicated that it made a surplus of about US$ 2.9 billion during the second quarter of the year 2021/ 2022. He explained that the increase in the value of Egyptian gas exports is eroding as a result of the increase in the prices of oil and its products. Regarding the agreement to export gas from Egypt to Lebanon, Mulla said that this is dependent on finalizing Beirut’s agreement with the World Bank.

CAIRO – 18 May 2022: Egypt is hosting the annual meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB Group) in Sharm El Sheikh on June 1-4. Minister Said clarified that Egypt will present visions on cooperation and raise common issues concerning member states at all levels. The minister pointed out that the last time an IsDB annual meeting was held in her country was in 1991. Egypt is also home to one of the 11 regional headquarters of the IsDB, which has 57 members. Jasser also expressed his great confidence in Egypt's capabilities to make the 2022 IsDB Group Annual Meetings a success and make it a special event that would be ingrained in people's minds for years to come.

Archipriest Arsanious Wadeed, the priest of Church of Virgin Mary in Alexandria was killed late Thursday after a man attacked himCAIRO – 18 May 2022: The Alexandria Criminal Court resumed Wednesday the trial of the murderer of the priest of Alexandria, Reverend Arsanios Wadeed, who was killed while on the Corniche last month. The defendant, known as “Abdel Rahman Nahr,” denied all the accusations drawn against him before the Alexandria Criminal Court during the first session of his trial. Residents of Muharram Bey street in Alexandria reportedly seized the man who attacked the priest, and the weapon. On April 8, the man who attacked the priest was detained pending investigations by Egypt’s Attorney general, Hamada El Sawy. Egypt’s Prosecutor General Hamada el Sawy ordered referring the man accused of killing Priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Alexandria Arsanious Wadeed to the criminal court for trial.

CAIRO – 17 May 2022: Egypt’s Prime minster Mostafa Madbouly said, Tuesday that the Russian-Ukrainian crisis imposed great challenges over several countries all over the world. He added during meeting with the Head of the Board of Directors of the Union of Arab Banks (UAB) Sheikh Mohamed El Jarrah El Sabbah that the political conflict has doubled the pressures on the Egyptian budget. El Sabbah said that the Egyption government managed to deal with the consecutive international crises successfully and provide basic commodities to its citizens amid the most difficult conditions. The UAB head made the remarks during a meeting held on Tuesday with Prime Minister Madbouly at the Cabinet headquarters. Madbouli thanked the AUB for selecting Egypt to host the Arab Banking Conference 2022 that is set to be held in Cairo on Wednesday under the theme: "The repercussions of the international crisis & its impact on the economic situation in the Arab region.”

DAKAR - 16 May 2022: Egypt has over the past period diversified its sources of financing, especially the green loans, in order to meet the development needs, affirmed Finance Minister Mohamed Maait. At that time, the African countries attained suitable growth rates, the minister went on to say. Back in 2019, the inflation and interest rates were down and thus it was easy to obtain loans, he added, noting that unlike today the inflation and interest rates are high and the risks are also high. Even the hot capital has flown out of the developing countries, noted the minister. The minister further said that the financial market should reduce interest on loans for the countries which step up their transition to clean energy.