The nation’s talking heads took to the airwaves to discuss day one of the US-Egypt Policy Leaders Forum, which brought together members of the Madbouly cabinet and a US Chamber Business delegation.

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The forum helped familiarize the American business community with Egypt’s recent reforms and economic progress, Planning Minister Rania Al Mashat told Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 4:36), adding that the country aims to position manufacturing and exports as key sectors driving growth.

Clearing the confusion on halal certification: The halal certification exemption only applies to dairy products — meat and poultry imports still require certification, Agriculture Minister Alaa Farouk told El Hekaya’s Amr Adib (watch, runtime: 7:06). “We ensure that all meat in Egypt is slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines,” he said, adding that dairy, however, is produced from living animals, so there is no such thing as halal or non-halal dairy products.

Why was the policy there in the first place? Cabinet spokesman Mohamed El Homsani broke it down further on Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 19:57), saying that the halal certificate requirement for dairy was a precautionary measure that proved unnecessary and scrapping it would mean lower costs for importers and consumers.

WANT THE FULL RUNDOWN? We dive into all that went down during day one of the forum in the news well, above.

ALSO ON THE AIRWAVES- Qena witnessed a blackout that Electricity Ministry spokesperson Mansour Abdel Ghany ruled as an accident that has been fixed and shouldn’t recur on Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 11:49).

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