Last night’s talk shows zeroed in on the way forward following the Ras El Hekma agreement and buzzed with rebuttals against Israeli media reports claiming that Egypt is scrapping plans to join South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ.

Egypt last week secured the full USD 35 bn from the Ras El Hekma agreement, now what? Egypt should form a national committee to follow up on the recommendations laid out by the IMF to ensure it doesn’t repeat the mistakes it made after it inked the initial loan agreement in December 2022, Economist Medhat Nafei told El Hekaya’s Amr Adib (watch, runtime: 22:49). This committee could be given the power to negotiate with the Fund on key terms, Nafie added.

The government’s trajectory is so far unclear: There are no clear indications that the government is using the proceeds wisely or that there are concrete plans for sustained reforms, Nafei said.

The EGP is currently undervalued, Nafei said, explaining that while it’s possible for the currency to appreciate, a gradual adjustment is preferable to avoid a flight of hot money from the local market.

Shutting down the rumor mill: Reports by Israeli media claiming that Egypt plans to withdraw from its bid to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice are untrue, Al Qahera News quoted a high-ranking source as saying yesterday. The denial made the rounds on Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 0:58), Masa’a DMC (watch, runtime 0:42), and Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 2:15).

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