Good morning, wonderful people, and happy Monday. We’re going to start this morning’s program with a quick housekeeping announcement:

We’re only one week away from meeting with some of you at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum, taking place at the Four Seasons at the Nile Plaza on Monday, 15 May.

We’re delighted to have some exceptional speakers lined up — setting the stage for a fascinating day and for some great post-event editorial coverage.

If you’re attending, make sure to come early: Our networking breakfast starts at 9am, and it’s your chance to catch up with friends and colleagues as well as our speakers.

Speaking of speakers: We’re delighted that McKinsey partner Yassir Zouaoui is coming in from the GCC to join us for our opening panel, which we’ll unveil tomorrow. Yassir, a specialist in FDI with hands-on experience in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Morocco, will join two other special guests to help us set the tone for the day in an on-stage interview by HSBC Egypt Deputy CEO Helmy Ghazi and Patrick, our editor-in-chief.

Then it’s off to the races, with an A-list lineup of speakers that includes:

They’re not the only ones: Among the CEOs, top execs, bankers, and development finance folks speaking at the conference are (in no particular order): Tarek Kamel, CEO of Nestle Egypt; Omar Elsahy, General Manager of Amazon Egypt, Khaled Morsy, CEO of DB Schenker Egypt; Mark Wylie, CEO of Beyti; Mohamed Talaat Khalifa, CEO, Concrete; Kareem Abou Ghaly, chairman and CEO, Pasta Regina; Tarek Hosny, head of investments and projects at Fertiglobe; Nadia El Tawil, investment officer, AfricInvest; Mostafa Bedeir, CEO, Giza Seeds and Herbs; Hassan Massoud, associate director and head of private equity (Southern Mediterranean), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); Hossam Abou Moussa, partner at APIS; Shady William, managing director of IDG; Nada El Ahwal, CSO of Transmar, Mohamed El Gebely from USAID Trade; Hossam Sallab, CEO and vice-chairman, Sallab Group and Royal Ceramica; and Abdallah Sallam, CEO, Madinet Masr.

Topics and live interviews will include:

  • Why exports and FDI are the way forward — and what lessons we can learn from what’s worked in Morocco, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and beyond;
  • How to attract the right foreign partner — and how to figure out what they’re looking for;
  • What lessons we can draw from export success stories in white goods, fertilizers, and garments;
  • What are the fundamentals to creating an export and / or FDI strategy;
  • What it takes to secure a place in a multinational’s supply chain;
  • What are the industries of tomorrow if you’re starting your FDI and / or export strategy from scratch.

Tap or click here to explore our full agenda.

** Have you confirmed your attendance? Invitations have been sent out over the past few weeks. If you have yet to confirm your attendance and would still like to join us, please reply to the invitation with an RSVP.

THE BIG STORY IN THE REGION-

Arab foreign ministers yesterday voted to bring Syria back into the Arab League 12 years after it was kicked out for its crackdown on Arab Spring protesters, according to a statement (pdf) out following the meeting in Cairo. Damascus is now allowed to attend meetings and it has been suggested that the country’s president, Bashar Al Assad, could chair the next gathering on 19 May.

Calls to end the war: The decision included a call by Arab states to reach a political settlement to the war in Syria and address issues such as refugees, terrorism and drug trafficking. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and the Arab League's secretary-general will set up a group that will work with the Syria government to end the conflict.

Regional realignment: The vote follows weeks of talks among Arab diplomats to readmit the country back into the league and reestablish bilateral ties. Since the devastating earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey in February, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have led efforts to mend ties with Damascus and bring it back into the regional fold. It comes as part of a wider regional realignment that has seen Saudi Arabia rebuild ties to Iran and Cairo and Ankara start to make up as well.

Coverage is everywhere in the global press: Reuters | Associated Press | Bloomberg | Financial Times | NYT | BBC | Wall Street Journal.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Shoukry in Chad + South Sudan to talk Sudan ceasefire: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is in Juba and N’Djamena today to discuss bringing the three-week-long conflict in Sudan to an end, the ministry said in a statement yesterday. We have the updates on the conflict and the negotiations in Saudi Arabia in this morning’s War Watch, below.

The CFA Society is hosting its investment and sustainable finance day, featuring a variety of speakers from the International Finance Corporation, CI Capital, and the Financial Regulatory Authority’s Mohamed Farid.

Today in the Senate: Senators look into a report supporting the use of e-books in Egyptian universities.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

Tomorrow is budget day at the House: Finance Minister Mohamed Maait and Planning Minister Hala El Said will deliver statements in the House for the draft FY 2023-2024 budget. This will kickstart a month of discussions at the House Budget Committee before the final budget heads to the general assembly for a final vote before the end of the fiscal year on 30 June.

You can expect lots more government spending in the next fiscal year: The Finance Ministry has proposed allocating EGP 586.7 bn to what it calls public investments for the coming fiscal year, up 56% from FY 2022-2023, according to a new budget report.

Health and education spending to rise: Allocations to education will rise 19% to EGP 305.2 bn in FY 2023-2024 while health spending will increase 14% to EGP 111.2 bn, according to the report. The government is constitutionally required to spend a total of 10% of GDP.

The House Budget Committee has a busy week ahead, with six meetings scheduled until the end of the week, Mostafa Salem, deputy chairman of the House Budget Committee, is quoted as saying by Al Mal. The committee has two meetings scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday to discuss the state budget and the draft budgets for various state agencies for FY 2023-2024.

FYI- Here’s what we know so far about the budget and the state’s fiscal targets.

ALSO- UN sustainability agreement tomorrow: The Madbouly government and the UN will ink the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2023-2027, according to MENA. The framework will guide the implementation of UN projects in Egypt over the next four years.

AND-The Swedish embassy is hosting an event in Cairo on the prospect of hooking our electricity grid up to Europe’s, paving the way for significant energy exports.International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla, and representatives from the key private-sector infrastructure players working on Mediterranean energy projects will take part in panel discussions. The European Investment Bank and Alexbank will ink an undisclosed contract during the event, which comes as Egypt

SOUND SMART- There are as many as five proposed interconnector projects that would link our electricity grid to mainland Europe. Read about them all here.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

The National Dialogue begins: The first session of the National Dialogue will take place on Sunday, 14th May with the second and third sessions happening on Tuesday and Thursday. Sessions will take place every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Car import scheme wraps up: The expat car import initiative will draw to a close on 14 May. The scheme was initially scheduled to end in mid-February but was extended for another three months in a bid to maximize FX inflows.

REFRESHER-Launched in November, the scheme provides incentives to Egyptians living abroad to purchase cars overseas and import them into Egypt. It was designed by policymakers to bring more FX into the country. FinMin’s latest tallyin mid-April put the total FX raised by the scheme since its launch at USD 500 mn — 80% short of the government’s initial USD 2.5 bn target.

FACT CHECK- Gold and aluminum will not be making their EMX debut this year, EGX comms head Hesham Turk told Ahram Online yesterday. Turk was responding to a report in the local media this week that cited anonymous officials claiming the exchange would launch both commodities later this year.

When can we expect the EGX to start sharing gold prices? “We will include gold prices on our website once we obtain the approval of the Financial Regulatory Authority. A state-owned gold refining plant will provide the price updates,” he said. EGX boss Ramy El Dokany said last week that the EGX will start sharing gold prices on its trading screens within days.

DATA POINT #1- The Madbouly government has purchased 1.3 mn tons of local wheat since the local harvest season kicked off last month — taking it a third of the way to reaching its 4-mn-ton target, Kamal Hisham, head of the General Company for Silos and Storage, said in a televised interview yesterday (watch, runtime: 8:05). The harvest season began in April and runs through to August. Last year the government procured around 4.2 mn tons of wheat from local farmers, missing its ambitious 6-mn-ton target.

REMEMBER- The government is paying a lot more for local wheat, recently hikingitspurchase price by 74% to EGP 1.5k per ardeb.

DATA POINT #2- Global food prices rose 0.6% m-o-m in April, while falling 19.7% y-o-y as prices continue to decline from last year’s record highs, according to the UN food price index. The slight upward trend in April was due to increases in the prices of sugar and meat. Cereals, dairy, and vegetable oil prices dropped, continuing a downward trend.

ICYMI-

Missed this week’s Inside Industry? In our weekly vertical exploring all things industry and manufacturing, we looked at what the private sector wants to see in the redrafted Labor Act.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

IT’S OFFICIAL- Egypt is hosting the World Urban Forum in 2024: The Madbouly government and UN-Habitat inked an agreement to kickstart the Egyptian preparations to host the biannual World Urban Forum in 2024, according to a cabinet statement.

Tour de France’s L’Etape is coming to Egypt: Tour de France’s amateur cyclists' event — dubbed L’Etape — will host its first cycling race in Egypt later this year in Sharm El Sheikh, according to a statement (pdf). The event will happen under the auspices of the Youth and Sports Ministry.

Interested? The event’s date and registration details will soon be posted on L’Etape Egypt’s instagram page.

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

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed.

In today’s issue: The Higher Education Ministry has launched an electronic portal for students to receive equivalency certificates, with the services available for all graduate and postgraduate degrees and across all areas of study.