Amr Adib’s interview with UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda and IMF Executive Director Mahmoud Mohieldin stood out on last night’s talk show circuit, alongside coverage of Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Ahmed Fathy Khalifa’s visit to the border with Gaza.

Has the Egyptian economy emerged from the bottleneck after Ras El Hekma? “The Egyptian economy got a breather following the agreement and the IMF’s approval of the first and second reviews of Egypt’s USD 8 bn loan program, alongside the investment and trade agreement signed with the EU. It’s possible to build upon this chance until the situation stabilizes and citizens begin to feel the effect of these positive changes,” Mohieldin said (watch, runtime: 55:34). “The country needs several things to build upon this chance and move forward, including boosting investment and exports and reducing the debt service bill, which will prevent Egypt from needing to return to the IMF again,” Mohieldin added, noting that “Egypt’s relationship with the IMF, which began in 2016 and will end in 2026, will be successful in line with the IMF’s expectations.”

“A complete state exit from the market may take decades, and until this full exit is completed, no one will be allowed privileges at the expense of another,” Mohieldin said. “All private, Arab, or foreign companies in Egypt, as well as public sector companies, should be subject to a competitive system, meaning that the private sector is able to compete with state-owned companies.”

Mohieldin also expressed his support for the government’s plan to replace in-kind subsidies with cash-based subsidies, saying that “Egypt has the infrastructure under the Communications Ministry to identify beneficiaries by name, address, and phone number.” Mohieldin pointed to Brazil’s successful establishment of an integrated system for distributing cash-based subsidies to the actual beneficiaries, a program he said Egypt could learn from.

AND- Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Ahmed Fathy Khalifa’s visit to the Gaza border featured prominently on the airwaves, including on Ahmed Moussa’s program on Ala Mas’ouleety, with Moussa saying that that “the visit is a message to anyone that thinks of infringing upon Egypt’s sovereignty as well as a message of reassurance to the Egyptian people” (watch, runtime: 2:24). “Egypt is capable of deterrence, but maintains peace,” Moussa added, noting that “no one dares to threaten Egypt’s national security, not even Israel” (watch, runtime: 2:33). Moussa also hosted former head of military intelligence Nasr Salem, who noted that “Israel’s desire to maintain its forces in the Philadelphi Corridor means adding fuel to the fire” (watch, runtime: 31:30).

In context: Lt. Gen. Khalifa’s visit comes amid a sharp uptick in tensions between Egypt and Israel following the latter’s insistence on maintaining its forces in the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Egypt and Gaza, despite Cairo’s strenuous objections. It also follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusations that there has been weapons smuggling from Egypt into the strip via the Philadelphi Corridor, claims which Egypt has branded as lies.

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