{"id":554727,"date":"2021-11-08T13:46:02","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T13:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/11\/08\/tonight-shoukry-heads-to-dc-for-high-level-talks-alstom-lands-biggest-rolling-stock-contract-for-cairo-metro-line-1\/"},"modified":"2021-11-08T13:46:02","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T13:46:02","slug":"tonight-shoukry-heads-to-dc-for-high-level-talks-alstom-lands-biggest-rolling-stock-contract-for-cairo-metro-line-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/11\/08\/tonight-shoukry-heads-to-dc-for-high-level-talks-alstom-lands-biggest-rolling-stock-contract-for-cairo-metro-line-1\/","title":{"rendered":"TONIGHT: Shoukry heads to DC for high-level talks + Alstom lands biggest rolling stock contract for Cairo Metro Line 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Could we be getting more climate funding? It seems so,<\/strong> ladies and gentlemen, with developed nations pledging at COP26 more climate funding for developing countries and emerging markets. In local news, the Transport Ministry\u2019s TransMEA <\/strong>conference and agreements signed there led coverage so far.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORIES TODAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- CGT doesn\u2019t have as many enemies in parliament as previously thought:<\/strong> The House Planning and Budgeting Committee has yet to receive any formal proposals to amend the law governing the capital gains tax<\/a>, meaning the tithe is still on track to come into effect on 1 January, 2022, unnamed committee sources tell Al Borsa<\/a>. For the House of Representatives to even discuss a proposed legislative amendment, the draft amendment must have the backing of at least one tenth of the House (ie. 66 representatives). Only 20 MPs had previously signaled their intention to draft a legislative amendment to postpone implementing the tax.<\/p>\n

FinMin meeting with MPs on the tax hasn\u2019t happened yet:<\/strong> Parliament had been scheduled<\/a>to discuss<\/a> the ramifications of introducing the 10% tithe on gains from EGX transactions with the Finance Ministry, GAFI, the EGX, and the Financial Regulatory Authority last month, but the meeting was postponed as Finance Minister Mohamed Maait was out of town, FinMin spokesperson Ragab Mahrous told Enterprise. The planned discussion comes as the reintroduction of the tax has been met with resistance from parliament, alongside fund managers<\/a> and figures in the securities industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Senate is still looking into the tax<\/strong> and is set to discuss the matter again within a week, according to the newspaper. The upper house of parliament had met with the Finance Ministry last month to hear its point of view on the matter, Mahrous confirmed to us.<\/p>\n

<\/a> #2- The National Authority for Tunnels signed a EUR 876 mn contract with Alstom for <\/strong>upgrades to Cairo Metro Line 1<\/strong>, the company announced in a statement<\/a> today. Alstom will provide 55 new subway trains<\/a> to Cairo\u2019s oldest underground line, as well as supply spare parts and maintenance under the 8-year contract, which is financed by the French government. The contract is among 13 signed by the Transport Ministry on the second day of the TransMEA transport conference. We break down the other agreements and what they mean for our transportation infrastructure in this week\u2019s Hardhat.<\/strong> <\/sup><\/sup><\/p>\n

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HAPPENING NOW- <\/strong>Shoukry in DC for high-level talks:<\/strong> Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is in Washington, DC today for the two-day US-Egypt Strategic Dialogue, with talks scheduled with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken<\/strong>, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry<\/a> and the US State Department<\/a> said in separate statements. The meetings, which will also be attended by senior officials from USAID and the Department of Defense, will cover \u201cinternational, regional, human rights and bilateral cooperation on economic, judicial, security, educational and cultural issues,\u201d the State Department said.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we expect from the meeting:<\/strong> GERD, US military assistance, Israel-Palestine and the coup in Sudan will likely all be at the top of the priority list. Add to that the situation in Libya ahead of the talks in Paris this week \u2014 and US-approved plans to ship Egyptian gas to Lebanon \u2014 and there\u2019s plenty to keep the two sides busy. More here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In other diplomacy news, high-ranking members of the Egyptian Armed Forces and the Israel Defense<\/strong> Forces (IDF) met for talks yesterday<\/strong> in Sharm El Sheikh, the IDF said on Twitter<\/a>. The two sides agreed to amend an agreement covering the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza to allow for an increased Egyptian military presence in the area, according to Israeli media reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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