[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Egypt and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Egypt Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to egypt@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.]
Political Rights
Lawyers for the family of Ayman Hadhoud were finally allowed to review the case files in the investigation into the researcher’s death on Saturday, after weeks of demanding access to them as part of their appeal against the prosecution’s decision to close the case, lawyer Fatma Serag told Mada Masr.
Egyptian political activists Amr Hamzawy, Essam Heggy to join national dialogue: Rashwan
Egyptian political scientist and activist Amr Hamzawy as well as space scientist and ex-presidential scientific advisor Essam Heggy have accepted the invitation to take part in the national political dialogue, general coordinator of the dialogue and Head of the Journalists Syndicate Diaa Rashwan said on Thursday.
NCHR, parliament committee to hold workshops on advancing national human rights strategy
Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights NCHR) and the House of Representatives’ Human Rights Committee have agreed to hold joint workshops to contribute to achieving the goals of the National Strategy for Human Rights.
Egyptian authorities release 10 new pretrial detainees accused of spreading false news: Lawyer
Egyptian authorities released on Thursday a new group of pretrial detainees – eight men and two women – accused of “disseminating false news affecting the country's national security,” Lawyer Khaled El-Masry said.
Egyptian authorities release new group of pretrial detainees; 3 convicts pardoned
The prisoners were convicted in the case known as the “Council of Ministers case” that dates back to December 2011, months after the 25th of January Revolution.
Egypt’s trade unions, leftist political parties to hold conference on national dialogue
Egypt’s Justice Party (‘El-Adl’) announced on Tuesday that it will sponsor the ‘Second Workers’ Conference’ in Alexandria on Friday in preparation for the national dialogue that is scheduled for July.
Fifty-nine political prisoners have now received release orders from the State Security Prosecution since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for a “national political dialogue,” a number of lawyers working on the detainees’ cases said.
As a format begins to take shape for the national political dialogue, which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for at the end of Ramadan, recent steps by those managing the dialogue have sparked negative reactions from some of the opposition groups that were invited to participate.
Hegazi’s ongoing case is just one in at least a dozen investigations that authorities have launched since 2020 into young women creating short-video content on applications including TikTok and Likee.
Prison authorities refused to allow the lawyer of imprisoned activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to visit his client on Thursday, over two months after Abd El Fattah began a hunger strike to protest the conditions of his detention.
Foreign Policy
The tour by the kingdom’s de facto ruler comes as Riyadh is making a push to reinforce its regional alliances ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia next month, a visit that was framed in the White House’s press release as part of an American push to build a wider security-economic alliance that includes both Arab states and Israel.
President Sisi and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani hold summit in Cairo
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani are holding a summit at at Itihadiya Presidential Palace, as the Qatari leader visits Egypt for the first time since Cairo and Doha resumed diplomatic ties last year as part of Al-Ula agreement that ended an over three-year-long diplomatic rift.
Cairo dismisses Tripoli statement about 'mistreatment' of Libyans at Egyptian border
Egypt dismissed on Wednesday a statement by Libya’s Tripoli-based government regarding alleged mistreatment of Libyans at an Egyptian border crossing, asserting that it provides all means of care to the Libyan people.
Sisi, Bin Salman discuss regional security ahead of the upcoming GCC+3 summit
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi asserted on Tuesday Egypt’s commitment to its stance regarding the national security of the Gulf region as part of its own national security rejecting any practices aiming to destabilize it in his meeting in Cairo with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, the Egyptian Presidency said.
Lebanon signs deal with Egypt to import natural gas via Syria
Lebanon has signed a deal to import natural gas from Egypt via Syria to boost power supply in the crisis-stricken country, AFP reported on Tuesday.
Joint statement on ninth meeting of EU-Egypt Association Council: Full text
A joint statement was issued on Monday after Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell chaired on Sunday the ninth meeting of the EU-Egypt Association Council in Luxembourg.
Sisi affirms sticking to diplomacy on GERD; says nobody will compromise Egypt’s water share
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has stressed that Egypt adheres to “diplomacy and patience” with regards to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue, though he added that “nobody will compromise Egypt’s [share of] water.”
Economy
Egypt, EU, Israel sign gas export deal in Cairo
The deal will allow Israel to export gas to Europe via Egypt. This comes as the EU races to cobble an energy strategy to replace the Russian gas supplies it has relied on for decades.
Current interest rates depend on expected inflation rates, not prevailing ones: CBE
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) decided, in its meeting Thursday, to maintain its basic interest rates at 11.25 percent for deposit, 12.25 percent for lending, and 11.75 percent for the credit and discount rate and the price of the main operation of CBE.
After weeks of tense debates, the pro-state parliamentary majority headed by the Nation’s Future Party led the final approval of the general budget for Fiscal Year 2022/23 in the House on Tuesday, despite significant criticism for its steep earmarks for debt servicing, megaprojects and judicial bodies.
Budget of Egypt's House of Representatives stands at EGP 1.572 billion in FY 2022/23
A report prepared by the Egyptian parliament's Budget Committee showed that the state's new FY 2022/23 budget will increase allocations to the country's 596-member parliament – the House of Representatives — to 1.572 billion Egyptian pounds, up from 1.471 billion Egyptian pounds in FY 2021/22.
Egypt’s parliament gives final approval on FY2022/23 budget targeting EGP 2 tln in expenditures
After a two-day debate marathon on Sunday and Monday, Egypt’s lower chamber of Parliament — the House of Representatives — gave a final approval on the state’s FY2022/23 Budget and Development Plan in a plenary session on Tuesday.
Four Egyptian political parties reject country's 2022/23 budget
Though the majority of MPs approved the new budget, four parties issued a statement on Wednesday criticizing it for excessive foreign borrowing and lack of fiscal discipline or austerity measures that could help contain the negative economic impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Coronavirus, Russian-Ukrainian War cost Egypt EGP 440 bln in losses over two years: Finance minister
The coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian War cost Egypt 440 billion Egyptian pounds in losses over the past two years, said Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait on Monday while delivering his conclusive speech at the House of Representatives.
INTERVIEW: Global inflationary wave impacted Egypt’s non-oil sector
Hit by cascading crises, Egypt’s latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) showed that the country’s non-oil business sector was noticeably impacted by global inflationary pressures, Economist at Standards and Poor’s’ (S&P Global) Market Intelligence Department David Owen told Ahram Online.
As inflation hits 3-year high, planned hike of electricity prices has been postponed
This week, Egypt’s government delayed its plan to increase consumer electricity prices, pushing the rate hike back another six months “in order to ease financial pressures on the Egyptian citizen,” Prime Minister Mostafa Madbuly told the press on Wednesday.
CBE maintains interest rates for first time since onset of Ukraine war
The Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the current key interest rates unchanged in its meeting held on Thursday.
A new Egypt deal with IMF likely to be four-year EFF loan: Finance minister
A new Egypt deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could be under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for four years, but a programme under the Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) and the Financial Programming and Policies are also on the table, Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait told Bloomberg TV.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia sign 14 agreements worth $7.7 bln in various investment fields
Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed fourteen investment agreements worth 7.7 billion US dollars on Tuesday, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) said in a statement.
Central bank import regulations stifle access to key goods in trade-off for dollar solvency
Egyptian importers have been unable to obtain crop seeds for almost three months, putting many livelihoods and supply chains in danger as nearly ninety-eight percent of the seeds used nationwide in agriculture are imported.
Domestic Security
Doctors: Expired Sinovac-Vacsera doses being used in Cairo COVID-19 vaccination campaign
Some locally-made doses of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine used in door-knocking campaigns in Cairo have been expired for as long as two months, two doctors involved in the campaign told Mada Masr.
From Jadaliyya
Review of Egypt’s Occupation: Colonial Economism and the Crises of Capitalism
The book takes up the relation between imperialist domination through the financialization of capitalism in the colonies and economism in the British occupation of Egypt.
Arabic
«معركة الشمال».. الجيش والقبائل في وجه التنظيم والجغرافيا واﻷزمات الداخلية
Two soldiers of the Egyptian military and two militants of the Sinai Tribes Union were killed in an explosion in Northern Sinai early this week, during a joint combing operation in Rafah city.
غياب المعلومات يحبط محاولات البرلمان حشد الإعلام لتحسين الصورة
The House of Representatives’ Committee on Human Rights held a meeting with representatives from newspapers and media platforms to discuss how to improve the country's image regarding human rights, amid the continuous absence of information.
محمد الباقر: ألف يوم من الاحتجاز التعسفي
Twenty human rights organizations called for the immediate and unconditional release of Muhammad al-Baqer. The organizations stressed that his detention is arbitrary and is intended to punish him for his human rights work.
بعد زيارة لـ20 دقيقة.. أسرة علاء عبد الفتاح: فقد كثير من وزنه.. وقال إنه سيموت شهيدًا في السجن
Alaa Abdel-Fattah continued his hunger strike for seventy-two days and has lost a significant amount of weight, according to his sister Mona who was able to visit him for a period of twenty minutes through a glass barrier in his prison cell at Wadi El-Natrun Complex.