Good afternoon, friends, and happy Thursday. We might be gearing up for a restful weekend, but the news cycle shows no sign of slowing down.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Egypt unveils its green hydrogen strategy: The government announced the National Low-Carbon Hydrogen Strategy today, aiming to transform Egypt into a global hub that targets 5-8% of the global green hydrogen market, according to a cabinet statement.

A phased approach: In the initial phase, the strategy focuses on establishing Egypt as a global destination for low-carbon production and export, involving launching pilot projects to develop a local green hydrogen economy and overseas market. Over the next decade, the strategy will move into securing Egypt’s position in the growing industry by leveraging low production costs and promoting carbon reduction efforts, in addition to scaling up renewable energy capacities to serve these projects. By 2040, the strategy will transition to maintaining Egypt’s position, as well as expanding domestic decarbonization efforts and the nation’s use of green hydrogen in industry and transport.

The greener scenario: A more optimistic outlook hopes that the strategy will raise investments totalling USD 60 bn to produce around 8% of the global low-carbon hydrogen market.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Ukraine has taken a page out of Russia’s book, advancing on a village on the border region of Russia. In a seemingly urgent press conference on Monday, Russian President Valdimir Putin discussed Ukraine’s surprise incursion into the country’s Kursk region last week that left 130k people displaced. Putin blamed the attack on the West, claiming that they were moving against them “with the hands of the Ukrainians.” Putin has not yet detailed how he plans to respond to the attack beyond regaining control of Kursk, a mission that a Russian commander reported fulfilled today. This is seen as the biggest foreign attack against sovereign Russian territory since WWII. (NYT | CNN)

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

  • Thanaweya Amma gets a facelift: Education Minister Mohamed Abdellatif yesterday unveiled a plan to restructure high school education and Thanaweya Amma by extension for the 2024-2025 academic year, which is set to begin on 21 September. The plan, which aims to reduce student workload while maintaining educational quality, was approved after public consultation with educational stakeholders over the past few weeks.
  • It was another busy Wednesday at the cabinet, with the country’s ministers approving a raft of new decisions, including a resolution regarding the issuance of executive regulations for the hospital privatization bill — which allows private entities to set up, manage, and operate healthcare facilities and public hospitals.
  • USD 11.6 bn in foreign investments incoming: Trade offices have attracted USD 11.6 bn in investments across different sectors. Most of the funds are destined for the energy sector, in addition to food industries, engineering, medical supplies, IT, banking, real estate, communications, ready-made garments, and textiles.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury is peaking at a high of 37°C before simmering to a moderate low of 26°C by nightfall, according to our favorite weather app. Sahel and Alexandria are seeing cooler weather, with a high of 32-33°C and a low of 24-28°C.

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