The Egyptian Prime Minister held a brief press conference today along with members of his cabinet and the FNC at the Emirates Palace.
The Egyptian Prime Minister held a brief press conference today along with members of his cabinet and the FNC at the Emirates Palace.

Egyptian PM visits capital for first time



ABU DHABI // The Egyptian prime minister, Dr Essam Sharaf, arrived in the UAE yesterday to discuss the country's economic recovery with UAE officials.

Egypt is seeking both investment and aid from Arab countries.

Officials visiting yesterday said the country needed US$3billion (Dh11bn) in financial assistance. "With the help of Arab countries I think we can manage," said Samir Radwan, the Egyptian minister of finance. Mr Radwan was part of the delegation accompanying Dr Sharaf, who met their UAE counterparts at the capital's Emirates Palace hotel.

"We are hoping for the Emirates to help Egypt," Mr Radwan said. "We have a deficit of 8.6 per cent of GDP, or 134 billion Egyptian pounds. Our target is to cover it, from local market, to cover 120 billion Egyptian pounds, and we will have 14 billion looking to get covered, roughly $3 billion."

So far Saudi Arabia has provided $500 million in financial assistance and Qatar is considering the sum it will provide, Mr Radwan said.

Dr Sharaf, who flew in specially for the meeting in Abu Dhabi, was received by Sheikh Khalifa, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi.

The UAE invested $4.5bn in Egypt last year, said Dr Anwar Gargash, the minister of state for foreign affairs.

Dr Sharaf assured UAE investors a more transparent investment climate for their funds. The prime minister said investors in the country, specifically those from the UAE, would not face "obstacles".

"We are very keen to overcome all obstacles to the UAE investments," he said. "As I was coming here, I had high hopes and trust to solve any setbacks. We want to solve it overall."

He said that "good" progress had been made, and that he was "sure all of it will be resolved".

The Egyptian economy has faced great challenges since the revolution started on January 25, an official at the meeting said.

“After January 25, the economy went down, not because of the revolution, but because of the lack of tourism, the production level was going down...,” said one of the prime minister’s aides.

According to the Egyptian ambassador to the UAE, Tamer Mansour, Mr Sharaf also met Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed.

Mr Mansour, the Egyptian ambassador, added that one of the aims of the visit is to discuss “the most important problems in Egypt, as well as discussing economics and investment”.

Dr Gargash welcomed the prime minister, and stressed the importance of the prime minister’s visit.

Dr Sharaf also met leaders of the Egyptian business community in Abu Dhabi to discuss any challenges they are currently facing.

Dr Sharaf’s visit was postponed twice previously. He is scheduled to fly out this morning.

osalem@thenational.ae

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz

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