{"id":550912,"date":"2022-05-12T13:42:53","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T13:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/05\/12\/this-evening-shoukry-is-in-copenhagen-for-climate-meetings-madbouly-leads-cabinet-delegation-to-tunisia-plus-finland-and-sweden-want-in-on-nato\/"},"modified":"2022-05-12T13:42:53","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T13:42:53","slug":"this-evening-shoukry-is-in-copenhagen-for-climate-meetings-madbouly-leads-cabinet-delegation-to-tunisia-plus-finland-and-sweden-want-in-on-nato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/05\/12\/this-evening-shoukry-is-in-copenhagen-for-climate-meetings-madbouly-leads-cabinet-delegation-to-tunisia-plus-finland-and-sweden-want-in-on-nato\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS EVENING: Shoukry is in Copenhagen for climate meetings + Madbouly leads cabinet delegation to Tunisia. Plus: Finland and Sweden want in on NATO"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon, friends, and a happy THURSDAY to you all.<\/strong> It\u2019s one of those (very) rare occasions where we have no big or interesting news on the home front to speak of today. But considering how busy the post-Eid news cycle has been, we\u2019re certainly not complaining.<\/p>\n

<\/a> A LOT OF DIPLOMACY HAPPENING- Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly is in Tunisia today and tomorrow for a meeting of the<\/strong> Egyptian-Tunisian Cooperation Council<\/strong>, according to a cabinet statement<\/a>. Joining Madbouly in Tunisia are Education Minister Tarek Shawki, Higher Education Minister and acting Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat, CIT Minister Amr Talaat, Housing Minister Assem El Gazzar, Agriculture Minister El Sayed El Quseir, GAFI head Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Financial Regulatory Authority head Mohamed Omran, and the head of the Trade and Industry Ministry\u2019s Egyptian Commercial Service, Yehia Elwathik Bellah.<\/p>\n

Foreign Minister and COP27 Sameh Shoukry is co-chairing a two-day <\/strong>meeting of climate<\/a><\/strong>leaders<\/a><\/strong> in Copenhagen<\/strong>, alongside Denmark\u2019s Climate, Energy, and Public Utilities Minister Dan J\u00f8rgensen and COP26 President Alok Sharma, according to a ministry statement<\/a>. Shoukry met earlier today with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, a separate statement<\/a> reads.<\/p>\n

Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman could be in town next week for talks with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi<\/strong>, Ala Mas\u2019ouleety\u2019s Ahmed Moussa said last night, without giving any details (watch, runtime: 3:01<\/a>).<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY ABROAD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finland and Sweden plan to formally seek NATO membership amid Russia\u2019s<\/strong> invasion of Ukraine. <\/strong>\u201cFinland must apply for NATO membership without delay,\u201d Finland\u2019s President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a joint statement<\/a>, with Sweden expected to follow suit, Reuters<\/a> reports. The Nordic countries are the two biggest EU nations who had stayed out of NATO, and the move would be a monumental shift for the two countries\u2019 long history of wartime neutrality. It would also result in the expansion of the Western military alliance, delivering a blow to President Vladimir Putin\u2019s ambition to weaken it. Putin had cited NATO expansion as one of the main reasons for the country\u2019s \u201cspecial military operation\u201d in Ukraine. Finland\u2019s announcement drew anger from the Kremlin, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov threatening an unspecified response.<\/p>\n

ALSO ON THE FRONT PAGES- Remember what it was like when covid-19 first landed<\/strong> within our borders?<\/strong> North Korea is just now catching up with what the rest of the world already experienced in early 2020, reporting its very first outbreak of the virus and imposing a national lockdown in a bid to contain the spread. Pyongyang \u2014 which so far has not vaccinated its population \u2014 has said the outbreak is the \u201cgravest national emergency.\u201d Reuters<\/a>, the Wall Street Journal<\/a>, and the New York Times<\/a> have more.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING NOW-<\/strong><\/p>\n

The <\/strong>Event Horizon Telescope<\/a><\/strong> team is set to announce within minutes what it says is a<\/strong> \u201cgroundbreaking\u201d discovery in the Milky Way galaxy<\/strong>, according to Space.com<\/a>. You can catch the live stream here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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** CATCH UP QUICK<\/strong> on the top stories from today\u2019s EnterpriseAM<\/strong>:<\/p>\n