Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the start of the penultimate week of February. We are nearly done with the second month of the year — and are fast approaching the final countdown to Ramadan.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Egypt is filing a memorandum with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s actions in Palestine, Al Qahera News reports, citing an unnamed Egyptian official. Egypt will present its memorandum to the ICJ this Wednesday, 21 February, according to the source.

What this means: Egypt will be presenting oral arguments as part of the proceedings of the UN's request for an advisory opinion from the ICJ on the legal consequences of Israel's actions and policies in Palestine, according to a UN statement. Egypt is one of 52 states and three international organizations presenting oral arguments in the public hearings, which begin tomorrow and run until next Monday, 26 February.

EDITOR'S NOTE- This story was amended on 18 February, 2024 to clarify that the oral arguments are part of a UN request for an advisory opinion, and are not related to South Africa's case against Israel, as we incorrectly said. 

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The Donald is once again leading the conversation in the international press this afternoon.A New York judge ordered former US President Donald Trump to pay a USD 355 mn fraud penalty with interest — on top of a USD 100 mn he already owes — and only days after the USD 83.3 mn he paid to American author E. Jean Carroll for defamation. In addition to the payment, Trump and his older sons have been barred from working as an executive of any New York company, including the Trump Organization, for three and two years each. Trump and his business are also barred from applying for loans from banks within the state. Trump insists that these cases are a “ political hit job ” with no merit. (Wall Street Journal | Associated Press)

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

  • An update on the company set up to attract investment from Egyptian expats: The Egyptians Abroad Investment Company (EAIC) will likely kick off operations this year and will initially target investments in agriculture and trade, before expanding into renewable energy and green hydrogen.
  • CBE signs off on Vodafone upping its stake in Basata: Vodafone Egypt has received approval from the Central Bank of Egypt to raise its stake in fintech platform Basata Holding for Financial Investments subsidiaries Bee and Masary — which constitute its epayment arm — to 20%, up from 10%.
  • More trade, collaboration with Brazil ahead: Egypt and Brazil inked a protocol aimed at facilitating Brazilian beef, pork, and poultry exports to Egypt by aligning the two countries’ meat inspection systems during Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s time in Cairo where he met with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

enterprise

*** It’s Inside Industry day —your weekly briefing of all things industrial in Egypt. Inside Industry focuses each Sunday on what it takes to turn Egypt into a manufacturing and export powerhouse, ranging from initial investment and planning to product distribution, through to land allocation to industrial processes, supply chain management, labor, automation and technology, inputs and exports, regulation and policy.

In today’s issue: We look at how Egypt and Turkey’s political rapprochement could translate into significant Turkish investments in Egypt, including in key industrial sectors that could help us with our localization push.

⛅️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Look for a partly cloudy day with a high of 21°C during the day and a drop to 11°C in the evening, according to our favorite weather app.

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