{"id":572572,"date":"2020-06-30T04:28:07","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T04:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/06\/30\/gerd-at-the-security-council-maait-on-egypts-economy-and-imf-funding\/"},"modified":"2020-06-30T04:28:07","modified_gmt":"2020-06-30T04:28:07","slug":"gerd-at-the-security-council-maait-on-egypts-economy-and-imf-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/06\/30\/gerd-at-the-security-council-maait-on-egypts-economy-and-imf-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"GERD at the Security Council + Maait on Egypt\u2019s economy and IMF funding"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UN Security Council meeting on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) <\/strong>was by far the most widely covered topic<\/strong> on the airwaves last night. Al Kahera Alaan\u2019s Lamees El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 3:24<\/a>), El Hekaya\u2019s Amr Adib (watch: runtime: 2:15<\/a>), and Masaa DMC\u2019s Eman El Hosary (watch, runtime: 10:15<\/a>) each recapped Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry\u2019s speech at the virtual meeting yesterday. We have chapter and verse in this morning\u2019s Speed Round, below.<\/p>\n

All signs point to the dispute any resolution to the dispute emerging from the African Union <\/strong>(AU)\u2019s mediation<\/strong>, especially after the AU said on Friday that the dispute is an African problem that should be addressed with African solutions, Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies consultant Hany Raslan told Lamees. That doesn\u2019t mean that Egypt has no recourse if things go awry<\/strong>, though \u2014 the dispute could be brought back to the Security Council at any time, Raslan stressed (watch, runtime: 3:20<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Involvement from the AU and the UN are not mutually exclusive<\/strong>, and both bodies have the mandate to step in and mediate the negotiations to help Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan reach a final agreement on the dam, political pundit Abdel Moneim Said told Lamees (watch, runtime: 11:45<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Egypt needs to stand its ground on clearly outlining a dispute resolution mechanism in the final GERD agreement<\/strong> to ensure Ethiopia is held accountable down the line if it tries to take any unilateral action, journalist Emad El Din Adib told El Hekaya host (and his brother) Amr Adib (watch, runtime: 1:04<\/a>).<\/p>\n

<\/a> Away from Planet Diplomacy, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait sat down with Al Tase\u2019a Masa\u2019an\u2019s Wael Ibrashy for an extensive chat<\/strong> on everything from the government\u2019s growth projections to the proposed VAT Tax Act amendments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Egypt\u2019s new USD 5.2 bn standby loan agreement with the IMF will be used to help the government finance its reform program and shore up the social safety net<\/strong>, Maait said, stressing that the new funding package will not translate into more financial burden on the average citizen. The fund noted yesterday<\/a> that Egypt will begin repaying the first USD 2 bn tranche of the loan \u2014 which Central Bank of Egypt Deputy Governor Ramy Aboul Naga said should land within the next few days \u2014 in September 2023, with each disbursement set to be repaid in eight quarterly instalments.<\/p>\n

Other highlights from the interview, which you can watch in full here (<\/strong>runtime: 1:43: 38<\/a><\/strong>)<\/strong>:<\/p>\n