Good morning, wonderful people, and a very happy Tuesday. We’re halfway through the last full work week in Ramadan — and looking forward to the coming streak of holidays as the news flow picks up pace again.

PSA #1- The Eid holiday schedule is confirmed: Public sector workers will be off from Thursday, 20 April until Tuesday, 25 April in observance of Sinai Liberation Day and Eid El Fitr, cabinet said in a statement. Expect the Manpower Ministry, central bank, and the EGX to follow up with their own announcements in the coming days.

We have a couple holidays coming up before that: Banks and the EGX will be off next Sunday, 16 April to mark Coptic Easter (the day is not a public holiday), and we’re all off next Monday, 17 April off to mark Sham El Nessim.

PSA #2- We’re bringing back daylight saving time (yet again) on Friday, 28 April. You’ll be losing an hour’s sleep as clocks jump forward one hour until the final Thursday of October.

THE BIG STORY TODAY- Inflation hit a near all-time record of 32.7% in March as the EGP devaluation and a shortage of foreign currency continue to pressure prices. Get the full story in the news well, below

There’s also interesting news on the regional diplomacy front: Turkey’s top diplomat says Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will head to Ankara later this week — with potential “concrete steps” to reappoint ambassadors on the table. Shoukry is already in the neighborhood after touching down in Athens today for bilateral talks. Scroll on for the details.

AND- Al Ahly was crowned Egypt Cup champion yesterday after beating Pyramids2-1 in the final. Pyramids took the lead in the 72nd minute with a header from Walid El Karti — but their hopes of wresting the Egypt Cup from the nine-season-long dominance of Ahly and Zamalek were scuppered when Mahmoud Abdel-Moneim scored an equalizer just two minutes later. Ahly’s Hamdy Fathy sealed the deal with a goal in extra time. This marks the 38th time Ahly snags the title.

** SO, WHEN DO WE EAT? We’ll be breaking our fasts at 6:19pm CLT today. You have until 4:03am tomorrow morning to hydrate and grab a bite to eat.

The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum, our latest industry-specific conference, is taking place on Monday, 15 May at Four Seasons, Nile Plaza. The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum will give insiders and newcomers alike the chance to talk about how to develop an export-centered business and how their companies can help us build an export-led economy that makes us a magnet for foreign direct investment (FDI).

What’s the Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum? In the wake of successive floats of EGP, exports and FDI have never been more important to our economy — or our businesses. We’re gathering some of the CEOs, top execs from local companies and multinationals, investors, bankers and finance folks to speak on how businesses can adapt their strategies to be export-oriented and what we as a country can do to draw foreign investment and much-needed FX. Expect it to be heavy on lessons learned in Egypt and other global growth markets — and lots of success stories.You can learn more on our conference website here.

Some of the biggest names in business and finance are on board — are you? If you’re a C-suite exec, business owner, DFI staff, export executive, investor or banker, please fill out the form here to signal your interest, letting us know your name, title and where you work.

WANT TO BECOME A COMMERCIAL PARTNER? Ping a note to Moustafa, our head of commercial, here.

THE REALIGNMENT-

Shoukry to head to Turkey: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will likely visit Turkey later this week, taking steps towards fully restoring ties between the two sides, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Turkish TV yesterday.

Normalization imminent? “It is time to take concrete steps,” he said. “During Shoukry’s visit, we can take steps to appoint ambassadors,” he said, adding that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan could hold a meeting following the Turkish elections scheduled for 14 May.

REMEMBER- Relations with Turkey are thawing: The two country’s top diplomats pledged to put aside their differences and normalize relations during talks in Cairo last month, after Shoukry became the first senior Egyptian diplomat to visit Turkey in over a decade in February.

The news is receiving wide coverage: Reuters | Al Monitor | The National.

BUT FIRST- Shoukry is in Athens today for talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. Shoukry will also meet with Copelouzos Group CEO Dimitris Copelouzos to follow up on the progress of the 3-GW Greece-Egypt Interconnector (GREGY) project, for which Copelouzos is the lead contractor.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Rania Al Mashat is in Washington for the IMF / World Bank Spring Meetings:International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat is in Washington, DC, this week for the IMF / World Bank Spring meetings. Al Mashat is scheduled to participate in a number of talks, including the meetings of the Group of 24 as well as the World Bank Group’s Development Committee and Human Capital Project, according to a ministry statement. She will also hold bilateral discussions with partners including the US government, European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. The event kicked off yesterday and runs until 16 April.

** The IMF will be out with its latest global growth forecasts when it publishes its World Economic Outlook in full this afternoon.

The House reconvenes:MPs will discuss and vote on two proposed amendments:

  • Changes to the nationality law that would allow more Egypt-born children of foreign nationals to become citizens. The amendments would allow foreign-born women who have acquired Egyptian citizenship to pass it down to their children born in Egypt, a privilege that is currently only available to foreign-born men with Egyptian citizenship.
  • Changes to the Police Academy law that would tighten rules on who is eligible to enroll in the police academy.

Tomorrow at the House: MPs will vote on two USAID grants meant to stimulate trade and investment and improve economic governance.

It’s deadline day for NGOs to register with the government: All local and foreign NGOs have to register with the government by today under the 2019 NGO Law, the Social Solidarity Ministry confirmedyesterday.The ministry in Octoberextended the deadline to give NGOs another six months to comply.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Issa to speak at BEBA iftar: Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa will be guest of honor at the British Egyptian Business Association’s (BEBA Egypt) annual Ramadan iftar, which will be held at Salah El Din Citadel.

There’s no one BIG STORY ABROAD dominating the front pages of the foreign press this morning.

  • WikiLeaks 2.0: Most major outlets are still tracking developments in the Pentagon’s investigation into the leaking of classified US intelligence documents online. (Bloomberg | NYT | WSJ |FT)
  • Another mass shooting in the US is also making headlines. (Reuters | AP | NYT | WaPo)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

EgyptAir is set to launch a new route to Bangladeshi capital Dhaka next month, according to a statementby the Civil Aviation Ministry. The flag carrier will start the new route on 14 May, and will operate two flights a week. The first flights will be offered at a 50% discount.

The Senate will reconvene on Sunday, 7 May after a three-week break. In its final session before the break yesterday, the upper legislative chamber discussed the government’s water management strategy — including a network of new wastewater recycling projects that are set to cost a combined EGP 83 bn.

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

*** It’s Going Green day — your weekly briefing of all things green in Egypt: Enterprise’s green economy vertical focuses each Tuesday on the business of renewable energy and sustainable practices in Egypt, everything from solar and wind energy through to water, waste management, sustainable building practices and how you can make your business greener, whatever the sector.

In today’s issue: Governments around the world are unlikely to keep the globe from warming past 1.5°C, according to UN climate experts, who now expect the key threshold to be breached in the coming decade.

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