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| ROUND UP: The month at a glance |
King Tut too pricy for the big apple
New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will not be included
in the 2005 US tour of artifacts from the tomb of King Tut. The
museum, which helped organize a hugely popular tour three decades
ago, has decided not to host the exhibit due to its 17-year-old
policy of not charging visitors to see special exhibitions, spokesman
Harold Holzer told AP. Egypt is imposing a special separate admission
fee of up to $30 to raise funds for the maintenance and restoration
of its antiquities. The June 16 through November 15 tour opens in
Los Angeles, with exhibitions scheduled in Fort Lauderdale, Chicago
and another yet to be determined city.
Ethiopian meat import deal inked
A $50 million agreement to import meat products from Ethiopia was
recently signed in Addis Ababa between Egyptian and Ethiopian companies,
according to an Egyptian foreign ministry source. The two-year agreement
stipulates the import of Ethiopian livestock and/or beef products
and guarantees the construction of a mechanized slaughterhouse and
the rehabilitation of another four in Ethiopia by Egyptian companies.
The agreement is part of enhanced cooperation between the two countries
– members of the Nile Basin Initiative – and follows a
beef deal with Sudan. Another is being explored with Mauritania
in order to meet local market needs.
Officials cleared in 2010 Mondiale probe
A three-month probe by Egyptian prosecutors over the alleged mishandling
of $7 million spent to promote the country’s failed bid to
host the 2010 World Cup concluded there is little evidence of wrongdoing.
Talaat Genidy, a former director of sports in the Ministry of Youth,
and two other governmental officers were found guilty of technical
administrative violations for using foreign airlines during the
campaign rather than national airlines, an offence that violates
a local ministerial law. The investigation was sparked after state
auditors reported “several financial violations” concerning
the expenditure of funds. Egypt failed to win a single vote from
the 24-man FIFA Executive Committee, which awarded the 2010 World
Cup to South Africa.
U.S. cracks down on Egyptian drivers
The US Congress recently approved a measure to collect unpaid parking
tickets amassed by foreign diplomats stationed in the US. Egypt
is reported in the UK’s Guardian newspaper as the worst offender.
The bill, sponsored by New York Democratic senators Hillary Clinton
and Charles Schumer, aims to cut aid to the diplomats’ countries
by 110 percent of the amount they owe in unpaid fines. Egypt, which
owes $1.9m in unpaid parking tickets, receives more than $1.8 billion
in annual aid from the US. Runners-up Nigeria, Indonesia, Morocco
and Brazil – owe a combined $2.9 million.
Suez Canal authorities contain oil spill
Special units with the Suez Canal Authority contained an oil spill
from the Kuwait-registered Al-Samidoun in the waterway to prevent
it reaching Port Said and potentially damaging shipping facilities
and watercraft, according to an official quoted by Reuters. The
leak, which had no adverse affect on shipping in the canal, was
the second major incident in the waterway in the last six weeks.
On November 6, a Liberian-flagged fuel tanker ran aground due to
a mechanical failure, causing a three-day blockage of shipping traffic.
Kuwait dispatched the tanker Kathima to the canal to off-load the
remainder of the crude oil in Al-Samidoun, built in South Korea
in 1992. At the time of going to press, operations were ongoing
to eradicate the spill. One of Egypt’s main foreign currency
earners, the canal is estimated to have earned a record $3 billion
in 2004.
New ports open in Damietta, Port Said
As part of a comprehensive £E10 billion national plan to modernize
and increase Egypt’s ports, President Hosni Mubarak recently
inaugurated new harbors in eastern Port Said and Damietta. The approximately
£E 1.8 billion Port Said facility is a component of an ambitious
project to turn eastern Port Said and northern Sinai into an international
center for storage and transit trade. The Damietta project is Egypt’s
first electronically operated port and establishes a link to exchange
shipping information with other harbors.
Locusts worth their weight in gold
The governor of Egypt’s southern Aswan governorate has offered
a reward of £E 200, upon confirmation, to anyone reporting
the presence of locusts in the area, which borders Sudan, the semi-official
Al-Akhbar newspaper reported. Governor Samir Youssef put up the
sum after the insects showed up in the area from the east, surprising
anti-locust squads who were expecting them to make landfall from
further south.
Motor show revs up crowds
The 12th Cairo International Motor Show, held December 2-10 at the
Cairo International Fairground in Nasr City, had an estimated 250,000
visitors at its exhibition stalls, featuring both locally assembled
and imported cars as well as spare parts and accessories. Also known
as Formula Al-Ahram 2004, the massive event reflected Egypt’s
renewed interest in all things cars, spurred by the sudden customs
tariffs reductions on September 7, 2004. The discounted prices on
major brands proved attractive, as did Chinese models – previously
unknown in Egypt – because of their cheaper prices.
Investment measures fall short
Measures recently undertaken by the Egyptian government to attract
foreign investment are on the right track but need strengthening
according to the World Bank. A survey conducted by the bank and
several international research institutions on obstacles to investing
in Egypt revealed that other measures are needed to facilitate the
establishment of investment projects such as pursuing moves on easing
litigation procedures, ending disputes, obtaining financing and
administrative measures on acquiring licenses for these projects.
Experts believe that in the future Egypt needs at least $20 million
in investments to double the current growth rate, which stands at
4 percent.
No change in U.S. aid for 2005
Washington’s 2005 economic aid package to Egypt will remain
unchanged at around $535 million, according to a statement by Kenneth
Ellis, director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID)
in Egypt. Cairo received an estimated $24.3 billion in economic
assistance from the US between 1975 and 2000. Of that, $6.7 billion
was used to fund commodity imports, $5.9 billion for infrastructure
and $4.5 billion for basic services, including health and education.
In 2005, $135 million of the total is earmarked for education, $200
million for cash transfers and the balance for commodity imports.
Egypt also receives roughly $1.3 billion annually in military assistance
from Washington, the second highest in the world after Israel.
COMESA, Egypt sign capacity-building pact
The Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa (COMESA) and
the Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation for Africa (EFTCA) have
signed a letter of intent meant to enhance COMESA’s capacity.
Under terms of the agreement, reports Panapress, Egypt will provide
technical assistance to member countries of COMESA through the EFTCA
as a way of building capacities in the areas of agriculture, irrigation,
water resources development, industry, tourism, transportation,
communication and data technology.
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