Good morning, friends, and welcome to the next-to-last workday of the week. We hope you’re looking forward to the four-day weekend as much as we are.

It’s a busy news morning with a very welcome dose of news from the private sector after multiple news cycles dominated by the government’s policy agenda and its response to our ongoing economic problems. We expect the rest of the day to follow suit as we wait for news of the final close on Beltone’s blockbuster EGP 10 bn capital increase.

PSA- The heatwave isn’t ending any time soon: Look for the mercury to stay in the 40-42°C band through next week, the national weather service and our favourite weather app agree.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The two-day meeting of G20 finance ministers in India wraps today: The global economic slowdown, the proposed global tax pact, and preventing a wider debt crisis in the developing world were on the agenda for the first day of the talks in Gandhinagar yesterday, according to VOA and the Times of India. The war in Ukraine, rising global interest rates, climate finance and crypto regulations are also expected to be discussed. Expect a communique later today.

Reminder: Egypt has a seat at the table. Finance Minister Mohamed Maait is attending the gathering after India invited Egypt to take part as a guest at this year’s G20 meetings.

The North Africa fintech community is gathering in Cairo: The Seamless North Africa fintech conference wraps today at the Egypt International Exhibition Center.

Egypt Mining Forum starts today: International and local mining chiefs, investors and policymakers are gathering at the Nile Ritz-Carlton for the two-day Egypt Mining Forum.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

SPEAKING OF MINING- Seven gold exploration licenses up for grabs: The Oil Ministry will this week award seven gold exploration licenses to LSE-listed gold miner Centamin and Canadian firm Barrick Gold (listed on the NYSE) .

The deadline for two USAID scholarships is approaching: The application deadline for the USAID Scholars Activity and USAID Egyptian Pioneers scholarship programs is this Thursday, 20 July. The programs offer scholarships to 250 Thanaweya Amma students in public, experimental and STEM schools. Know someone who should apply? Send them this link .

NEXT WEEK-

The National Dialogue is back: The National Dialogue will resume sessions on Tuesday, 25 July, Kamal Zayed, member of the dialogue’s board of trustees, told Al Masry Al Youm. The dialogue kicked off in May, holding three weekly sessions discussing political, economic, and social issues.

When does the national dialogue process end? Sessions have been on pause since the Eid Al Adha break, and officials have said it’s too early to tell when the public policy-making fest might wrap up.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Russia just pulled out of the Black Sea grain pact: Russia yesterday said it would withdraw from the grain export pact with Ukraine in a move that threatens to spark renewed volatility in global food prices. “The Black Sea agreements are no longer in effect,” Russian news agency Tass quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying yesterday. “Unfortunately, the part of the Black Sea agreement that concerns Russia has not yet been fulfilled. As a result, it has been terminated.”

Reminder: The agreement, brokered by the UN and Turkey in July 2022, allows Ukraine to export grain and other food commodities via its Black Sea ports and helped stave off a global food crisis triggered by the war.

This matters to us here in Egypt: Russia and Ukraine are two of the world’s biggest wheat exporters and prior to the conflict provided most of Egypt’s wheat imports.

Wheat prices rose on the news: US wheat futures rose more than 3% to hit USD 6.84 a bushel in Chicago, but have since fallen back, according to the Wall Street Journal.

What Russia wants: Moscow has been calling on western nations to ease sanctions that inhibit it from exporting food and fertilizer — and wants to resume exporting ammonia via a Ukrainian pipeline that is currently offline. It has been threatening to do this for a while: The pact has been extended several times since its introduction a year ago but Russia has repeatedly threatened to kill it if Ukraine and its Western sponsors don’t meet its demands.

This is big news this morning: Reuters | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | New York Times | Washington Post.

ALSO- Erdogan looks for new investment with a trip to the Gulf: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in Qatar and the UAE as part of a three-state Gulf tour aimed at attracting some USD 25 bn in investments to shore up the country’s ailing economy, Bloomberg reports. The trip started yesterday in Saudi Arabia and ends on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia in March deposited USD 5 bn in the country’s central bank to support the economy, which is grappling with a currency collapse and a cost-of-living crisis.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDARS- The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations soon.

Do you want to become a commercial partner? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial, or fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.

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

ENTERPRISE IS LOOKING FOR SMART, TALENTED PEOPLE of all backgrounds to help us build some very cool new things. Enterprise — the essential morning read on all the important news shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region — is looking for writers, reporters and editors to help us build out new publications.

NEVER WORKED IN A NEWSROOM BEFORE? We have the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program. Whether you are a recent graduate, an industry vet, or looking to switch careers, the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program will give you the tools you need to tell the most important stories to our audience of C-suite officials, government ministers, diplomats, financiers, investors and entrepreneurs.

Not an internship program — a career: The three-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran business journalists, while also working on and filing stories that will run on any of our publications. Those who have successfully completed the program, will then be given long-term job offers.

Apply directly to jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “reporter development program” in your subject line.

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