{"id":590186,"date":"2023-07-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/07\/16\/sisi-heads-to-kenya-sudan-peace-talks-to-restart-in-saudi-arabia\/"},"modified":"2023-07-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-07-16T00:00:00","slug":"sisi-heads-to-kenya-sudan-peace-talks-to-restart-in-saudi-arabia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/07\/16\/sisi-heads-to-kenya-sudan-peace-talks-to-restart-in-saudi-arabia\/","title":{"rendered":"Sisi heads to Kenya + Sudan peace talks to restart in Saudi Arabia"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to a short workweek. <\/span><\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY here at home this morning: We\u2019ve just buried the hatchet with Turkey \u2014 <\/span>are we about to do the same with Ethiopia?<\/span> Signs of another diplomatic breakthrough were in the offing last week after a seemingly cordial meeting between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed in Cairo. The two leaders have agreed to try and find an agreement within four months to finally end the GERD dispute and reach a settlement that allows Ethiopia to generate electricity without jeopardizing Egypt\u2019s water security. <\/span><\/p>\n

ON THE BUSINESS FRONT- <\/span>The National Bank of Egypt\u2019s fintech Momkn looks to be the <\/span>target of a group of private equity firms, NUCA just closed another huge securitized bond, and Alstom wants to make its rolling stock and signaling systems here in Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\n

^^ All that and more in this morning\u2019s news well, below. <\/span><\/p>\n

PSA #1- We have two four-day weeks ahead of us.<\/span> We\u2019re all off Thursday-Sunday in <\/span>observance of Islamic New Year and Revolution Day. All Enterprise editions will be off and will resume publication on Monday, 24 July. <\/span><\/p>\n

PSA #2- Look for the heatwave to continue through the long weekend<\/span>, with the mercury in <\/span>the 40-43\u00b0C band with reasonably high humidity in the mornings. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/span>PSA<\/span> #3-<\/span> Attention pre-series A startups:<\/span> Silicon Valley VC <\/span>500 Global<\/a><\/span> has partnered <\/span>with the Communication Ministry\u2019s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) to launch the <\/span>Scale Up Program in Egypt<\/a><\/span>, it said in <\/span>a press release (pdf)<\/a><\/span>. The seven-week program will focus on local pre-series A startups, offering them the mentorship necessary to help them scale up their operations. Interested startups can join the waitlist <\/span>here<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

PSA #4-<\/span> Customs evaders could face up to EGP 10k in fines: <\/span>The Customs Authority <\/span>will start handing out EGP 10k fines to anyone caught lying on their customs declaration forms, failing to clear goods, <\/span>or<\/span> preventing custom officials from carrying out their jobs, <\/span>Al Mal<\/a><\/span> reported. <\/span><\/p>\n

PSA #5- The application deadline for the <\/span>USAID Scholars Activity<\/a><\/span> and <\/span>USAID Egyp<\/a><\/span>tian<\/a><\/span>Pioneers<\/a><\/span> scholarship programs is this Thursday, 20 July.<\/span> The programs offer scholarships to 250 Thanaweya Amma students in public, experimental and STEM schools. Apply <\/span>here<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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HAPPENING TODAY- <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/span>El Sisi heads south:<\/span> President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is in Kenya today to participate in <\/span>the African Union\u2019s <\/span>midyear coordination meeting<\/a><\/span>, Ittihadiya <\/span>said<\/a><\/span> yesterday. El Sisi will go <\/span>through Egypt\u2019s agenda as the head of the <\/span>New Partnership for Africa's Development Agency<\/a><\/span> (NEPAD). He\u2019ll also talk about climate change, according to the statement and is expected to meet with his Kenyan counterpart, President William Ruto, for one-on-one talks. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/span>Sudan peace talks are back on: <\/span>Representatives of Sudan\u2019s warring factions <\/span>arrived in Saudi Arabia yesterday to restart peace talks, Sudanese government sources told <\/span>Reuters<\/a><\/span>. The meeting comes hot on the heels of the summit in Cairo last week that brought together all eight of Sudan\u2019s neighbors to discuss bringing an end to the conflict. We have the details in this morning\u2019s news well, below. <\/span><\/p>\n

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/span>The National Dialogue\u2019s committees are set to <\/span>meet this week<\/span> to finalize a communique for the dialogue\u2019s last round of sessions ahead of presenting it to the board of trustees, <\/span>Youm7<\/a><\/span> reports. The National Dialogue sessions \u2014 which have been on pause since the Eid Al Adha break \u2014 will then resume next week, according to the newspaper. The National Dialogue <\/span>kicked off in May<\/a><\/span>, holding three weekly sessions discussing political, economic, and social issues. <\/span><\/p>\n

When does the National Dialogue end, you ask? <\/span>It\u2019s anybody\u2019s guess. There\u2019s been no <\/span>official comment on a potential end-date for the process since a senior official involved in the process said in early May that <\/span>it would run at least 2-3 months more<\/a><\/span>, adding that it was \u201cnot possible\u201d to set a timeline for it to wrap up.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/span>G20 finance ministers are meeting in India this week:<\/span> The war in Ukraine, rising <\/span>global interest rates, climate finance and crypto regulations will all be on the table when G20 <\/span>finance ministers meet in Gandhinagar this week, according to <\/span>Bloomberg<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reminder: Egypt has a seat at the table.<\/span> India has invited Egypt to take part as a guest at this <\/span>year\u2019s G20 meetings.<\/span><\/p>\n

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-<\/span><\/p>\n

Soaring global temperatures are making the headlines this morning<\/span> as the onset of El Ni\u00f1o <\/span>threatens to push the mercury to record levels. The <\/span>Associated Press<\/a><\/span>, <\/span>Reuters<\/a><\/span>, the <\/span>Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/span>, the <\/span>Washington Post<\/a><\/span> and <\/span>CNBC<\/a><\/span> have more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two stories out of the US worth keeping an eye on <\/span>this fine Sunday morning:<\/span><\/p>\n