Egypt Prepares for its Move to the New Administrative Capital

An aerial view of roads and the construction site in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)
An aerial view of roads and the construction site in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)
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Egypt Prepares for its Move to the New Administrative Capital

An aerial view of roads and the construction site in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)
An aerial view of roads and the construction site in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)

The Egyptian government is training its employees to work in the New Administrative Capital (NAC), ahead of its move before the end of this year.

The government implemented several projects, worth around $300 billion, in the New Administrative Capital, which is located 75 kilometers east of Cairo.

Head of the Central Agency for Organization and Administration (CAOA) Saleh El-Sheikh said that 4,942 employees nominated for the transfer completed their training amid strict precautionary measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that government services are set to start operating in NAC on an experimental basis in August.

The operation will begin after government employees are relocated to the NAC, aiming to ensure that all facilities are available before the official inauguration, which was scheduled for last year but was delayed because of the pandemic.

The plan aims to train employees on issues relating to raising national awareness and job performance, concepts and challenges of national security, and an explanation of the concept of fourth-generation warfare.

The training will also address the components of state success, the concepts of governance and anti-corruption, as well as basic computer skills, as indicated by the head of the Central Agency.

The plan also includes training the nominated employees on a package of competency programs, according to the evaluation of behavioral competencies carried out by the Ministry of Planning.

In addition, each nominated employee will receive a “training card”, which includes the needs of their behavioral competencies such as the need for achievement, emotional balance, communication effectiveness, performance efficiency, self-confidence, teamwork, decision-making and time management.

Each group will be coached according to its field of work, and they will be receiving training about the New Administrative Capital applications so that transferred employees become fully aware of how to operate and use these programs.

The NAC will house 10 ministerial complexes grouping together 34 ministries, in addition to the headquarters of the cabinet and the parliament and includes 52,300 state employees.



Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
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Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.
The outcome reflected shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Hezbollah badly pummelled from last year's war, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled in December.
The presidency, reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, with deeply divided factions unable to agree on a candidate able to win enough votes in the 128-seat parliament.
Aoun fell short of the 86 votes needed in a first round vote, but crossed the threshold with 99 votes in a second round, according to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, after lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally the Amal Movement backed him.
Momentum built behind Aoun on Wednesday as Hezbollah's long preferred candidate, Suleiman Franjieh, withdrew and declared support for the army commander, and as French envoy shuttled around Beirut, urging his election in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said.
Aoun's election is a first step towards reviving government institutions in a country which has had neither a head of state nor a fully empowered cabinet since Aoun left office.
Lebanon, its economy still reeling from a devastating financial collapse in 2019, is in dire need of international support to rebuild from the war, which the World Bank estimates cost the country $8.5 billion.
Lebanon's system of government requires the new president to convene consultations with lawmakers to nominate a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often be protracted as factions barter over ministerial portfolios.
Aoun has a key role in shoring up a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel which was brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese military to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.
Aoun, 60, has been commander of the Lebanese army since 2017.