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EPW Week in Brief – April 25-30, 2019

President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi traveled to China as part of the Belt and Road Summit, an economic forum attended by prominent business officials and world leaders.


Summary

  • President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi traveled to China as part of the Belt and Road Summit, an economic forum attended by prominent business officials and world leaders. Members of Egypt’s House of Representatives described Sisi’s participation as an opportunity to display Egypt’s economic prosperity at an international forum.
  • During the Belt and Road Summit, members of the Nation’s Future Party met in Cairo with officials from the Chinese Communist Party to discuss economic concerns of mutual interest between the two countries.

Notable Developments

Representatives Praise Sisi’s Visit to China:

President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi traveled to China last week and participated in the Belt and Road Summit, an economic forum focused on Chinese investment attended by world leaders and business officials. Following the forum, several members of Egypt’s House of Representatives, notably Coalition in Support of Egypt Chairman Abdel Hadi al-Qasbi, praised Sisi for his attendance at the summit and described the visit as an opportunity to showcase Egypt’s international prominence.

During the summit, members of the Nation’s Future Party hosted members of the Chinese Communist Party to discuss bilateral relations, especially economic concerns.

Other Developments

In Legislation:

An announcement declaring a new state of emergency was published in the Official Gazette on April 23. The three-month state of emergency was effective April 25. The House has yet to approve this measure. Egypt has been under states of emergency nearly continuously since April 2017, and parliament has approved all emergency declarations since then. Egypt’s constitution limits states of emergency to three months, with one extension of the same length, though this restriction has been repeatedly circumvented by allowing brief lapses before declaring a new emergency. The previous state of emergency ended on April 15.

In Session:

The Housing Committee held its first of three meetings this week to discuss the Ministry of Housing’s budget for the 2019–20 fiscal year.

In News and Statements:

Wafd Party Chairman Bahaa Abu Shoqa stated that an anticipated elections law managing the future Senate—which is to be established under the recently ratified constitutional amendments—will determine the number of seats in the new legislature designated for individual and list candidates. Shoqa also confirmed that the party has begun preparing possible candidates for the eventual Senate election.

Defense Committee Chairman Kamal Amer praised Sinai Liberation Day (April 25) as an historic day for Egyptians.

Representative al-Sayyid Abdel ‘Al was announced the chairman of the Tagammu Party for a second term, and he asserted following his victory in the party’s internal elections that he would continue to advance the organization’s and the country’s interests concerning political and economic affairs.

Looking Ahead

  • The Agriculture Committee will convene May 12 to discuss the draft budget for the Ministry of Agriculture for the 2019–20 fiscal year.
  • Media Committee Chairman Osama Heikal stated that the committee will convene to discuss the draft budget for the Antiquities Ministry for the 2019–20 fiscal year on May 12.
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