{"id":579196,"date":"2023-01-30T04:13:18","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T04:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/01\/30\/this-morning-blinken-to-sit-down-with-el-sisi-fm-shoukry-today\/"},"modified":"2023-01-30T04:13:18","modified_gmt":"2023-01-30T04:13:18","slug":"this-morning-blinken-to-sit-down-with-el-sisi-fm-shoukry-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/01\/30\/this-morning-blinken-to-sit-down-with-el-sisi-fm-shoukry-today\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: Blinken to sit down with El Sisi, FM Shoukry today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, lovely people, and happy Monday. <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> Driving the conversation on Egypt in the global press this morning: US <\/strong>Secretary of State <\/strong>Antony<\/strong> Blinken is in town <\/strong>and will meet this morning with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi (9am CLT) and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (10:30am CLT) and then hold a presser (11:40am) before he heads to Israel to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others later this afternoon, according to Blinken\u2019s public schedule for today<\/a>. Blinken arrived here yesterday afternoon.<\/p>\n

On the agenda: <\/strong>The latest from Palestine and Israel alongside developments in Libya and Sudan, according to a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How are ties now between the two sides? <\/strong>As warm as we can remember them being in during the Biden administration. The State Department\u2019s rundown on \u201cthe US-Egypt relationship,\u201d issued on the eve of Blinken\u2019s departure for Cairo, notes our \u201chistorically strong and growing partnership\u201d and dives deeper into areas including (in order of appearance, and thus emphasis)<\/a>: regional security, the economy, \u201cpeople-to-people ties,\u201d climate, defense, and then democracy and human rights.<\/p>\n

Blinken kicked off his Cairo visit at AUC yesterday,<\/strong> holding a conversation with a group of young people at the Tahrir campus. \u201cEnjoyed hearing from these young Egyptian leaders who are promoting our shared values and strengthening our important bilateral relationship \u2014 this makes me optimistic about our future,\u201d he tweeted<\/a>. He also met yesterday with staff and families at the US embassy.<\/p>\n

Blinken has been reasonably quiet in the press since arriving: <\/strong>Only his opening remarks<\/a> at AUC Tahrir were on the record for the press and his interview yesterday with Al Arabiya<\/a> focused largely on Iran, followed by Iraq, Libya and Syria.<\/p>\n

\n

PSA- No fake weather news here: Winter will finally be upon us starting tomorrow. <\/strong>Look for the mercury to slide below 20\u00b0C for the coming two weeks, our favorite weather app suggests. Anyone else think we\u2019ve so far had an unusually warm (and dry) winter?<\/p>\n

** <\/p>\n

<\/strong>TAKE OUR JANUARY ENTERPRISE READER SURVEY<\/a><\/strong> and get a chance to have lunch with <\/strong>us:<\/strong> Give us your thoughts on how 2022 panned out for your business and industry, and what you\u2019re expecting in the year ahead in our Enterprise Reader Survey.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re asking you to share your expectations<\/strong> on the EGP \/ USD rate in 2023, how you\u2019re managing expenses amid the rising cost of living, where you see your industry as a whole heading, and whether you expect to make fresh investments \u2014 among a few other questions we ask our community on a regular basis. As is our custom, we\u2019ll be sharing the results with all of you in a few weeks\u2019 time to help you shape your view of the year.<\/p>\n

You can <\/strong>take the Reader Survey here<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 it won\u2019t take more than a few minutes to complete.<\/p>\n

Want to have lunch with us?<\/strong> Leave your name, email, mobile number, and where you work in the box for \u201cIs there anything else you want to tell us.\u201d We\u2019ll be inviting eight participating readers to breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

IN THE HOUSE-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir is in the hot seat<\/strong>, facing questions in the House on railway and metro upgrades, ports, and maritime transport, as well as what some reps are characterizing as his \u201cexcessive borrowing policies\u201d and the high cost of our new Spanish Talgo passenger trains.<\/p>\n

A busy day for the House Committees: <\/strong><\/p>\n