Good afternoon, friends, and a very happy Thursday. We’re looking forward to a weekend of good weather, exciting matches, and a plethora of activities after a long newsweek.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

It’s a wrap for the Brics Summit in Russia: The heads of Brics nations — including President Abdel Fattah El Sisi — are in the Russian city of Kazan for the last day of the annual Brics Summit.

What went down today: El Sisi gave a speech (runtime, 4:26) to the Brics Plus summit where he said that the Israeli war against the Palestinian people and the expansion of aggression into Lebanese territories is a “stark testament to the abandonment of and disregard for principles, the prevalence of double standards and the lack of accountability and justice.” The president also called into leveraging multilateral development banks to grant more access to developing nations, especially the Brics’ New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The president also called into: Leveraging multilateral development banks to grant more access to concessional financing to developing nations, especially the Brics’ New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; Capitalizing on the Brics Plus meetings to strengthen South-South cooperation; Maintain cooperation and dialogue among developing nations to safeguard the integrity of the multilateral international system and to “collectively oppose endeavors to impose unilateral policies that are detrimental to the interests of our nations.”

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

International heads are turned towards Harris and Trump as the US elections inch closer. With less than two weeks left until the elections and razor-thin margins, the involved parties are ramping up their campaigns. Canvassers for current VP Kamala Harris targeting her weakest demographic, white nonunion workers, while Republicans in favor of former president Donald Trump lobby for more stringent oversight at the polls to avoid the perceived participation of noncitizens, despite US election security officials emphasizing that voter fraud has become exceedingly rare. (NYT | Reuters | Bloomberg)

Harris has distanced herself from current US president Joe Biden, stating that her presidency “would not be a continuation of the Biden administration.” She has emphasized that she hopes her time in the office “represent[s] a new generation of leadership on a number of issues.” (CNN)

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

  • Madbouly’s latest presser centered around Egypt’s IMF loan program: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly’s weekly presser provided fresh details on the possible review of Egypt’s loan program with the International Monetary Fund.
  • Strengthening Egyptian-Libyan trade relations: Last week, Benghazi hosted a delegation from the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) and tens of Egyptian companies — including the federation’s Mohamed El Bahy — who were in town for the Libyan-Egyptian Industrial and Trade Forum. EnterpriseAM spoke to El Bahy to find out what went down during the forum and learn more about the future of Egyptian-Libyan trade.
  • Five major airports slated for first phase of private sector offerings: The first phase of the government’s plan to bring private investors to develop, manage, and operate Egyptian airports will offer up five airports.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The cool stable weather is continuing into the weekend, with the mercury maintaining a high of 30°C and a low of 19°C in the capital, according to our favorite weather app.

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