The Madbouly cabinet kicked off 2025 with a raft of decisions and measures during its weekly meeting on Wednesday, including agreements on methane emissions and trade, and amendments to business licensing regulations, according to a cabinet statement.

#1- Business licensing deadline extended: The ministers passed amendments to the executive regulations of the Public Shops Law, extending the deadline for businesses to comply with licensing requirements to December 2026 from last December. The amendments also allow judicial officers to inspect businesses without prior notice and require them to give violators up to 60 days to address infractions before referring cases to authorities.

#2- Egypt is working on a methane reduction roadmap: Cabinet approved a presidential decree on an agreement between the state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Company and the United States Trade and Development Agency to prepare a “roadmap to reduce methane emissions in Egypt.” The study will determine current methane emissions in the oil sector and set reduction targets with implementation timelines.

#3- Two Japanese grants for agritech incoming private players: The cabinet also approved a JPY 35 bn — currently equivalent to USD 222.7 mn — financing agreement with Japan to support private sector development and economic diversification. Ministers also greenlit a JPY 500 mn grant agreement — worth roughly USD 3.2 mn — with the Asian nation to support economic and social development through digital agricultural transformation.

#4- Free trade agreement with Serbia gets approval: The Madbouly cabinet greenlit a presidential decree on the Egypt-Serbia free trade agreement that was announced during President El Sisi’s visit to Serbia in July 2022 and signed during the Serbian president’s visit to Egypt last June.

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