It’s time to move from planning to implementation: Economist and legal expert Ziad Bahaa El Din joined Cairo Weekend’s Zeina Soufan (watch, runtime: 14:56) to weigh in on the Madbouly government’s plans for the economy, arguing that there’s a “huge gap” between the language in strategies like Egypt Vision 2030 and the national narrative, and what’s happening on the ground. “Everyone agrees we need to regulate the state’s role in the economy, empower the private sector, and broaden the tax base without raising taxes. The problem is implementation,” he said, citing the State Ownership Policy Document as an example demonstrating the lack of follow through.

What should our future look like post-IMF program? Bahaa El Din said he wouldn’t be worried seeing Egypt’s current IMF loan program end without the government negotiating another. “What concerns me is the absence of a new reform program — not with the IMF, but one of our own,” he said. Egypt now needs to focus on structural reforms to improve how markets function, support the private sector, and fix customs, taxes, and the operational role of the state, he added.

AND- Juhayna is pushing hard into the GCC and Europe: Juhayna recently signed a distribution agreement in Saudi Arabia to lay the groundwork for a Gulf expansion, Juhayna Vice Chairman Seif Thabet told Soufan (watch, runtime: 12:27). The company also landed a white-label contract with Lidl, the largest supermarket chain in Europe, to supply juice products in Germany — “the first time a non-EU producer has made the cut, thanks to our quality,” he said. The company plans to increase its exports 50% by 2028 through partnerships in the GCC and Europe.

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