Good afternoon, friends. We are in for a busy evening with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi expected to land in Turkey any minute now, giving us plenty to look forward to on the diplomacy front.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

El Sisi is on his way to Ankara: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is en route to the Turkish capital where he will hold meetings with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and together they will co-chair the first meeting of the High-level Strategic Cooperation Council between the two countries, according to an Ittihadiya statement.

Cooperation ahead: The two presidents will oversee the signing of several MoUs between the two sides covering a wide range of undisclosed sectors.

The two countries are “opening a new chapter,” El Sisi said in a presser when Erdogan made his first visit in over a decade in February. The two sides have been working to mend a decade of tense relations triggered by a host of issues, including Erogan’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood, competing interests in Libya, and tensions over gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean. Under this new relationship, the two countries are planning to boost annual bilateral trade from USD 6.6 bn in 2023 to USD 15 bn in the next few years.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

After a turbulent day on Wall Street, the international press has shifted its attention from the stock market to Europe’s largest automaker Volgswagen, whose employees are carrying out protests after it announced that it’s looking to carry out unprecedented factory closures in Germany — shutting down a vehicle plant and a component factory — in response to dwindling demand. Shutting down plants would see the company turn its back on a promise not to cut jobs in Germany before 2029. The automaker expects to sell 500k less cars in Europe a year — “the equivalent of around two plants,” CFO Arno Antlitz said. (Bloomberg | FT | CNBC)

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

  • Cash-based subsidies will range between EGP 500-1,250, a government source told Enterprise. A two-person household will receive a monthly EGP 500, three-person households will receive EGP 750, while four-person households will be getting a monthly EGP 1,250. Households with more than four members will not be eligible for any subsidies.
  • Qalaa officially offloads 18% stake in Taqa in debt settlement agreement: Qalaa Holdings has settled some EGP 3.35 bn worth of debt to four local banks in exchange for a 17.7% stake — 239 mn shares — in Taqa Arabia.
  • Finally in the green: Non-oil private sector activity expanded in August for the first time in over three years.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury is peaking in Cairo tomorrow at 34°C before simmering to a low of 25°C by nightfall, according to our favorite weather app.

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