On the sidelines of the Arab Travel Market in Dubai, Hesham Zazou, Egyptian Minister of Tourism, is continuing his intensive meetings with officials in the tourism sector. Zazou has stated that he is conducting several meetings with the officials in the fields of tourism and aviation in the Arab world so as to look into the ways of restoring the normal rates of inbound tourism from the Arab Gulf region in general, and the UAE in particular. The Egyptian minister has met with Hassan Anwar, CEO of Saudi International Travel Agency, and Abdel Rahaman Shehab, CEO of Bin Ghaith Travel Agency, more and above the chairmen of Etihad Airways and Hala Abu Dhabi in order to discuss the joint cooperation. Zazou confirmed that the talks with officials of the international airways companies aim to increase the flights to Egypt as well as the seats specified for Egypt's tourism groups in the Asian markets, where EgyptAir has no airlines. It is worth mentioning that the Egyptian wing witnessed this year a vital movement and increasing consideration from the travel agencies operate in the Egyptian market. The minister said considering the Egyptian market at the current time is because of restoring the confidence in Egypt's tourism destination for the Emirati tourist in general. More»

The Egyptian Premier, Dr Hesham Kandil, held yesterday evening a short meeting with Dr Amr Darrag, new Egyptian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation,  and Mr. Yehia Hamed, Minister of Investment to discuss the preparations of his participation in the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development). Dr Hesham Kandil will preside Egypt's delegation that will take part in these meetings in Istanbul, on 10-11th of May. Kandil will be in President Morsi's name, during these meetings. On the sidelines of these meetings, the Egyptian PM will take part in the meetings of the Egyptian Turkish Business Council in order to promote for the investment climate in Egypt, and to highlight the available investment ventures in different places in Egypt. Additionally, Kandil will prop up the ways of boosting the Egyptian exports to Turkey. More»

The United States of America has rejected Egypt’s request for aid worth US$ 550 million in cash and insisted to give the country the value of this aid in the form of advanced scholarships in technical fields needed by the Egyptian government. A source at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation revealed that USA has promised to grant Egypt aids worth US$ one billion; of which US$ 190 million are secured, US$ 260 million are hinged on securing the long-awaited loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and US$ 550 million will be given in the form of scholarships after USA rejected to give this value to Egypt in cash. Egypt is still in talks with USA and international lenders to secure loans and grants to be able to overcome the current economic crisis, the source added. The government seeks to secure the US$ 4.8 billion loan from IMF as it will enable the country receive other loans and grants including US$ 2 billion from the World Bank, US$ one billion from African Development Bank and US$ 900 million from the European Union. More»

Cairo is tougher on smuggling today than it was in Mubarak’s time, says Israeli expert. Egyptian security forces operating in northern Sinai have arrested a man suspected of collaborating with Israel, while destroying over 150 smuggling tunnels leading into the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian newspaper reported on Tuesday. According to independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, the suspected spy, a resident of [Egyptian] Rafah identified by the initials “Ali A. S.”, was apprehended in a desolate area in the peninsula. The man is the sixth suspect in an espionage chain exposed last month, the daily reported. Meanwhile, military forces charged with hampering Palestinian smuggling in northern Sinai as part of “Operation Eagle,” which began in August 2011, have exposed 276 smuggling tunnels into the Gaza Strip, demolishing 154 of them. Shlomo Brom, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, said he believed hundreds of tunnels still existed between Sinai and Gaza, but added that the Egyptian government was now cracking down on them more seriously than in Hosni Mubarak’s days. More»

Egypt said it expected crude oil imports to start arriving next month after Libya and Iraq agreed to make shipments to help Cairo weather an economic crisis. More than two years of political turmoil since an uprising toppled President Hosni Mubarak have hammered Egypt's economy. Foreign currency reserves, used to pay for food and fuel under subsidy programs that make up about a quarter of the budget, have fallen to critically low levels. Egypt's oil ministry said in a statement on Tuesday measures would be implemented to rein in an energy crisis, including "the arrival of the Libyan and then Iraqi crude oil shipments next month". Some areas have experienced sporadic power outages, and fuel shortages have also led to queues at many filling stations over the past few months. The economic crisis has pushed Egypt to seek easy payment terms from suppliers by cutting diplomatic deals that leverage the country's strategic importance. More»

In a dimly lit Cairo workshop, Hussein spins a metal pipe on a lathe, sending sparks flying. In a few minutes, it’ll become the barrel of a gun. Sometime after that it will join the growing arsenal of illegal weapons on the streets of Egypt. Artisans who make machine parts by day are turning into bootleg gunmakers at night, says Hussein, 54, who asked not to be identified by his full name for fear of prosecution. He only sells to a middleman because “trust the wrong person and you’re going to jail.” He can make as much as 3,000 pounds ($435) per gun -- about 20 percent of what a legally licensed one costs.   “Fear is big business nowadays,” Hussein said. “People buy the guns because they’re afraid. People buy the guns because they want to scare others. We’re in a jungle now.” More than two years after the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, the proliferation of weapons and a spate of vigilante killings, violence and sexual attacks are eclipsing the hope born from the revolt. Fueled by political deadlock and economic stagnation, the security breakdown threatens to put solutions beyond the reach of President Mohamed Morsi. A growing number of Egyptians feel that “you can actually achieve your goals using violence,” said Ezzedine Choukri Fishere, a political scientist at the American University in Cairo. Beneath that lies the “dashed expectation and hope of the youth,” he said. Hashish to Tramadol A few miles from Hussein’s workshop, the glassy stare in Abdel-Rahman’s eyes reveals some of that despair. At 24, he looks a decade older, his skin sallow from the Tramadol painkillers he pops, his shirt reeking of the hashish he says dulls the boredom. A year ago, he was working in a Cairo gift shop, selling souvenirs. He said he had a fiancé, “but she left me for someone with hope.” Now he snatches the occasional purse to fuel his habits. Egyptians who had expressed hope for food and jobs during the uprising, are instead confronted with unemployment and rising prices. Lines for subsidized fuel have triggered protests and strikes, as well as brawls. Hardship heightens the sense of breakdown, and the woes confronting the $257 billion economy add to the potential for violence. That, in turn, has a “massive and very serious chilling effect” on investors, said Michael Hanna, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation research group in New York. More»

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi swore in new cabinet ministers on Tuesday in a shuffle of his government that strengthened the position of the Muslim Brotherhood in key ministries and provoked complaints from the nation's disparate opposition. Members of the opposition had demanded that Mr. Morsi form a more inclusive government—one including liberals, moderates, Coptic Christians and women—ahead of parliamentary elections due to take place this year. They also sought the removal of Prime Minister Hesham Kandil, who is viewed by his critics as lacking political experience and charisma. But Mr. Kandil retained his post in the shuffle, helping to form the new cabinet that includes 10 officials belonging to the ruling Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. Eight of 35 ministers in the previous government were FJP members. Many of the cabinet's non-FJP ministers are also seen as allied with the president and the Brotherhood. No opposition members were named to the cabinet. The ministers of information and education, both Muslim Brotherhood members, retained their posts, as did the controversial interior minister, whose ouster had been sought by opponents. More»

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi increased the influence of his Muslim Brotherhood over government in a cabinet reshuffle that replaced two ministers involved in crucial talks with the IMF over a $4.8 billion loan. The changes fell well short of the opposition's demand for a complete overhaul of Prime Minister Hisham Kandil's administration and the installation of a neutral cabinet to oversee parliamentary elections later this year. It looked unlikely to help build the political consensus the International Monetary Fund is seeking for reforms needed to secure a loan seen as vital to easing Egypt's deep economic crisis - an unaffordable budget deficit and a plunge in the value of its currency. The government is struggling to seal a deal that would require it to implement austerity measures. Kandil, a technocrat appointed premier last year, named nine new ministers. They included Amr Darrag, a senior official in the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, as planning minister. The outgoing minister, Ashraf al-Arabi, had played a central role in the IMF talks. More»

On the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market, which was inaugurated yesterday in Dubai, UAE, the Egyptian Tourism Minister, Hesham Zazou, convened a meeting with Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, President of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). Zazou said the meeting discussed the deep-rooted relations between Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as the ways of enhancing the cooperation in the tourism sector. The Egyptian minister has confirmed the depth of the Egyptian Saudi relations between the two brotherly nations. Both sides agreed on continuing the mutual consultations for the interest of the two countries. On his part, Prince Sultan bin Salman stressed the significance of the bilateral relations and the persistent connection between the two countries since long years. As to the Saudi side, it is willing to develop the tourism relations and enhance the touristic infrastructure in the two countries. More»

Mr. Alaa El-Hadidi, official spokesman for the Egyptian cabinet, announced the names of the new ministers; confirming the reshuffle includes 9 ministries not 11 ones. The spokesman emphasized that the new reshuffle comprises Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Suliaman- minister of justice, Mr. Hatem Hamed Abdullah Bagato- minister of state for parliamentary councils, Eng. Sherif Hassan Ramadan Hadara- minister of  petroleum, Dr Ahmed Mahmoud Ali Al Gezawi- minister of agriculture and land reclamation, Dr Fayad Abdel Moneim Hassanein- minister of finance, Dr Ahmed Mohamed Amr Darag- minister of planning and international cooperation, Dr Alaa Abdel Aziz Abdel Fattah- minister of culture, and Mr. Hamed Abdel Samie Hamed- minister of investment. More»