Egypt Edition 
UAE Edition 
Saudi Edition 
MENA <> India Corridor 
Logistics (MENA) 
Climate (MENA) 
Share
Read Full Issue 
It was a mixed bag on the airwaves last night, led by coverage of the second day of the National Dialogue, the government’s latest efforts to boost investments, and Yahduth Fi Masr’s exclusive sit-down with FM Sameh Shoukry.
Day two of the National Dialogue focused on the economy, with two sessions discussing social protection programs and the other two the tourism sector and efforts to boost tourism investment. “We are aiming to bring in 30 mn tourists by 2028 but we are lacking performance indicators and standards. We don’t have anything to indicate we are on the right track or to tell us what we are missing,” Senator Mahmoud Al Kot told Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 20:20). Masa’a DMC (watch, runtime: 4:03) and Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 6:25) also had coverage.
The Supreme Investment Council’s first meeting got some airtime: The council approved22 measures aimed at attracting more foreign investment at its first meeting yesterday. Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 29:33) and Masa’a DMC (watch, runtime: 7:15) had the news.We’re expecting to learn more about the decisions from Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly who will give a press conference today.
REMEMBER- The council was established to replace the investment council that was established in 2016 as part of the state’s efforts to boost investment and stimulate economic growth. The council is chaired by the president and includes 22 ministers and state officials, including the prime minister and the central bank governor.
A one-on-one with FM Shoukry: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry joined Yahduth Fi Masr for an exclusive focusing on Syria’s return of the Arab League. Egypt was one of the early movers to accept Syria, Shoukry said (watch, runtime: 3:23). “Over the past few years there was a lull in dealing with the Syrian crisis and it had a negative impact on the Syrian nation,” he said, adding that the Egyptian diplomatic mission will be back in Syria but the timing depends on negotiations and communication between the two sides. “Joint Arab action needs to take advantage of its capabilities to have an impact not just Arab issues but also issues beyond the Arab region and global issues,” Shoukry said (watch, runtime: 2:05), highlighting the importance of Arab countries having a joint vision (watch, runtime: 3:51).
Shoukry downplays Iran normalization as “unfounded speculation”: “Our relationship with Iran continues as is, we are studying the development between Iran and Gulf countries ….and when there is an interest in changing our approach, we certainly will look into it,” Shoukry said (watch, runtime: 23:52). His comments come following a media report that claimed Egyptian and Iranian officials have been in normalization talks since March, and optimistic statements from several Iranian officials about warming ties with Cairo.
El Hadidi ditched the politics for the night: Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi spent the night talking to actor Khaled El Nabawi about his portrayal of Imam Mohamed Ibn Idriss Al Shafei’ilast Ramadan (watch, runtime: 4:27).
