“The solar power plant is more than a power generation project; it is a strategic pillar for improving quality of life, supporting local economic activities and promoting the use of renewable energy,” Al-Wazir said. Djibouti’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Younis Ali Guedi, said the facility is the largest solar power plant completed in a rural area of the country. The Arab Organization for Industrialization carried out on-the-ground execution, while the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development provided primary funding and oversight as part of Egypt’s international development cooperation initiatives. The Omar Jagaa solar power plant forms part of a broader initiative to electrify remote rural areas in Djibouti and represents a key component of Egypt’s efforts to share renewable energy expertise with African partners. Al-Wazir said the project paves the way for further cooperation in green energy, local industrial development and technology transfer between Egypt and Djibouti, contributing to sustainable job creation and the development of human capital.

Under the agreement, EPS will review technical designs and supervise tendering and implementation works for supplying electricity to the Egyptian Countryside Development Company’s lands in the West Minya Plain. The electricity extension project targets approximately one million feddans of land in the West Minya Plain, at an estimated total cost of EGP 25bn. The first phase, with a capacity of 100 megavolt-amperes (MVA), will cover the areas of South-West West Minya, the western extension of Minya, and West Manfalut and Al-Qusiya. The second phase will extend to Darb Al-Behnasawy, West Minya, and North-West West Minya. Upon completion of all phases, the project’s total capacity is expected to reach around 500 MVA, enabling electricity supply across the entire scope of the 1.5 Million Feddan Project lands in the West Minya Plain.

Following a series of rigorous fiscal and monetary reforms initiated in March 2024, the Egyptian government is projecting 2026 as a definitive turning point. The Private Sector PivotCentral to Al-Mashat’s briefing was the assertion that Egypt’s growth is no longer a state-funded monolith. Industrial growth has begun to feed into a surge in exports, while the tourism sector is on track to welcome nearly 19 million visitors this year. 430 specific measures covering tax reform, trade, and labor markets. covering tax reform, trade, and labor markets.

United Bank has risen to become the seventh-largest provider of mortgage finance under the low-income housing initiative, with a portfolio worth EGP 2.459bn, according to data released by the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund as at the end of November 2025. The portfolio represents a 2.8% share of total mortgage financing directed to low- and middle-income housing, serving 33,890 beneficiaries nationwide. Fayad added that mortgage finance solutions represent a core focus of the Bank’s strategy. United Bank currently operates across 16 governorates and 12 new cities nationwide, continuously enhancing service quality in terms of speed and efficiency through the adoption of digital transformation tools. United Bank provides mortgage finance services in nine Upper Egypt governorates—Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya, Assiut, Sohag, Qena, Luxor and Aswan—as well as four governorates in the Canal region: Port Said, Suez, Ismailia and the Red Sea.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said a 1% cut in interest rates is appropriate to maintain a monetary policy stance that anchors inflation expectations and supports the continued downward trajectory of inflation. The MPC said the decision reflects its assessment of inflation developments and the inflation outlook since its previous meeting on 20 November. In global commodity markets, oil prices declined as global supply outpaced demand, while agricultural commodity prices recorded mixed movements. Domestically, the MPC said the CBE’s estimates point to real GDP growth of around 5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with 5.3% in the third quarter. In 2026, inflation is expected to decline further and approach the Bank’s target by the fourth quarter of the year.

With nearly 3 million users— around a third of its population — the United Arab Emirates has the world’s highest cryptocurrency adoption rate, by some estimates. But the Gulf nation doesn’t just want to buy digital currencies — it wants to become a crypto capital. “Our global users now have the assurance that we’re subject to the regulatory oversight of ADGM,” Binance CEO Richard Teng told CNN. Ronit Ghose, head of future of finance at Citi Global Insights. They talk about Bitcoin as ‘digital gold,’ but it’s not — it’s got nothing in common with gold,” said Schiff, who debated tokenized gold and stablecoins at Binance Blockchain Week with Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s co-founder and former CEO.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday officially announced the recognition of the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland, a region in the Horn of Africa. Experts warn that the recognition sets a dangerous precedent and lacks international legitimacy. Pressuring EgyptAfrican affairs expert Attia Essawy, said that Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent state sets a a dangerous precedent. He interpreted the recognition as an attempt at pressuring Egypt through neighboring countries and softening its stance on Gaza. Marai noted the strategic cooperation between Ethiopia and Israel in the Red Sea, which Egypt has objected to.

Egypt has issued a formal condemnation of Israel’s unilateral recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland, warning that the move constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and threatens the stability of the Horn of Africa. Egypt reiterated its full support for the unity and sovereignty of the Somali state, rejecting any attempts to establish “parallel entities” that contradict international legitimacy. During the discussion, both ministers expressed their complete rejection of Israel’s recognition of the “so-called Somaliland,” affirming their joint support for a unified Somalia. The ministers collectively denounced Israel’s move as a “dangerous precedent” and a threat to the established principles of the UN Charter. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi signed a joint declaration establishing full diplomatic relations.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Thursday the closure of a fraudulent website claiming to sell tickets to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). In a statement, the ministry explained that as soon as the museum’s administration became aware of the website, all necessary legal measures were taken. Only one official websiteThe CEO of the GEM, Ahmed Ghoneim, stated that the only official and authorized website for purchasing tickets to the museum is visit-gem.com. No other websites are authorized or accredited to sell tickets or provide booking services, he stressed. The museum administration emphasized its ongoing monitoring of the internet to identify any unauthorized websites claiming to be affiliated with the museum and to take legal action against them, such as taking them down.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty emphasised the need for international efforts to stabilise the Gaza ceasefire and transition to the second phase of the “Trump plan” during a phone call with Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on Saturday. The Egyptian minister condemned continued settlement expansion and called on the international community to stop the escalation and attacks by settlers against Palestinian civilians. On the situation in Sudan, Abdelatty briefed his Norwegian counterpart on Egyptian efforts within the “Quad Mechanism” to reach a comprehensive ceasefire. Regarding the Horn of Africa, the Egyptian minister expressed full support for the unity and sovereignty of Somalia. Both ministers agreed on the importance of respecting state sovereignty to maintain international stability.

Egyptian businessman Hassan Heikal on Thursday proposed a “grand swap” as a solution to Egypt’s domestic debt woes. He explained that this solution involves transferring state investments to the sovereign wealth fund, with the state owning approximately 70 percent of it. This amount would then be deducted from the state’s outstanding public debt. Heikal explained that this swap would ease the government’s interest burden by transferring debt from commercial banks to the CBE, without impacting the banks’ financial health. The CBE should not be ‘distracted’Economist Khaled Saqr, a former head of a mission at the International Monetary Fund, responded to Heikal’s proposal.

At least eight people were killed and 18 others injured in an explosion targeting a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs on Friday, the country’s health ministry said. The state news agency SANA reported that “explosive devices” had been planted in the Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb mosque to target worshippers attending Friday prayers. Videos published by the state news agency showed heavy damage to the interior of the mosque and debris strewn across the floor. Security units established a cordon around the mosque while the authorities began investigating and collecting evidence into the incident, the interior ministry said. Survivors of the explosion described scenes of chaos as the blast rocked the mosque as people gathered for Friday prayers.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Thursday that the Nile River dispute with Ethiopia is an “existential threat” unlike any other crisis facing Egypt, adding that it transcends national security and border concerns. In an interview with Egyptian television, Abdelatty said that “The Nile issue is an existential threat. It doesn’t just affect national security or stability; it touches on our very existence. Cairo has recently escalated its rhetoric, declaring that negotiations with Ethiopia have reached a “dead end” after nearly 15 years of fruitless talks. Ethiopia maintains that the dam falls under its full sovereignty and is located on its territory, and does not consider the Nile a shared river.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar signed a mutual declaration of recognition with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Irro), establishing full diplomatic relations. For Israel, the move secures a strategic foothold along the Gulf of Aden, a vital maritime corridor for global trade and energy shipments. “This recognition represents a milestone in Somaliland’s pursuit of international legitimacy,” the Office of the President in Hargeisa said in a statement. On Friday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held emergency consultations via telephone with his counterparts from Somalia, Turkey, and Djibouti to address what they termed “dangerous developments” in the region. Netanyahu has invited President Abdullahi to Jerusalem for an official state visit to finalize sector-specific trade agreements.

Japanese authorities have detained a 38-year-old man following a stabbing spree at a rubber factory in central Japan on Friday, which left 14 people injured, according to a report by the Associated Press (AP). Shizuoka Prefectural Police confirmed the suspect was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the facility, though further details remain limited. The victims were rushed to nearby hospitals after the assault took place at the Yokohama Rubber Company plant in Mishima, located west of Tokyo. According to the AP, five of the victims are in critical condition, while fire department officials noted that seven others were injured after being sprayed with bleach during the attack. Violent crime is exceedingly rare in Japan, a nation known for its low homicide rates and some of the world’s most stringent gun control laws.