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Egypt, EBRD Launch New Cooperation in Energy, Tourism

A general view of Cairo, Egypt. (AFP)
A general view of Cairo, Egypt. (AFP)
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Egypt, EBRD Launch New Cooperation in Energy, Tourism

A general view of Cairo, Egypt. (AFP)
A general view of Cairo, Egypt. (AFP)

Egypt and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed two memoranda of understanding (MoU) on green hydrogen and established the Sector Skills Council (SCC) to boost the tourism sector.

They also signed an agreement to implement an Alexandria metro line with a total value of €250 million.

The new agreements are part of the framework of the new 2022-2027 strategy to meet Egypt's development priorities and the strategies it implements to advance all sectors.

It comes within the framework of the state's transition to a green economy through innovative strategies, increasing investment in human capital, and shifting to a sustainable and green transportation sector as part of the country's 2050 strategy for climate action.

Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation and EBRD's Governor of Egypt Rania al-Mashat said the cooperation documents signed with EBRD reflect the strategic relationship between the two sides and their role in supporting the development efforts.

Mashat noted that they are the beginning of joint action within the framework of the new cooperation strategy.

The minister explained that the agreements stimulate efforts made within the framework of green transformation, reducing harmful emissions, increasing investment in human capital, supporting competencies, and developing workers' skills in the tourism sector.

She also indicated that they would develop the transportation infrastructure to become more sustainable and keep pace with technological developments.

They will also promote joint work between the relevant parties and stimulate the participation of the private sector in development plans enhancing the state's development vision and providing soft development funds and technical support in line with the strategic priorities of green economic transformation, said the minister.

Mashat stressed that the coming period would witness more cooperation with the EBRD within the framework to meet the state's development priorities and the strategies it implements to advance all sectors.

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Business

Germany Growth Forecasts Slashed as Mideast War Hits Economy

Germany's economy is struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals © Ronny HARTMANN / AFP/File
Germany's economy is struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals © Ronny HARTMANN / AFP/File
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Germany Growth Forecasts Slashed as Mideast War Hits Economy

Germany's economy is struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals © Ronny HARTMANN / AFP/File
Germany's economy is struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals © Ronny HARTMANN / AFP/File

Leading economic institutes more than halved their growth forecast for Germany on Wednesday, warning that the energy shock caused by the Middle East war would hit Europe's top economy hard.

A group of leading institutes slashed their joint GDP growth forecast for 2026 to 0.6 percent, down from a September prediction of 1.3 percent.

Inflation is now forecast to rise to 2.8 percent, up from 2.0 percent, "weighing on household purchasing power".

"The energy price shock triggered by the Iran war is hitting the recovery hard," said economist Timo Wollmershaeuser of the Ifo institute, adding that increased government spending was nevertheless "preventing a stronger slide", AFP reported.

Oil and natural gas prices have surged since the end of February, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killed its supreme leader and plunged the Middle East into war.

Iran has since closed the Strait of Hormuz to ships of countries it considers allied with the US and Israel, effectively blocking a sea lane that normally transports about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.

Higher inflation in Germany would hit consumer spending, the institutes said, weighing on an already weak economy that has barely grown since a burst of pent-up demand after the Covid pandemic in 2022.

The government on Wednesday introduced rules allowing petrol stations to only raise prices once a day, at noon.

But motorist Sebastian, a 49-year-old estate agent who did not want to give his surname, told AFP at a Frankfurt petrol station that this was not enough to protect his spending power.

"Whether the price of petrol changes once a day or 10 times a day doesn't really matter," he said, adding it was "certainly not enough" to lower his costs.

Germany's economy, struggling with fierce Chinese competition in sectors from cars to chemicals, was in the doldrums even before US President Donald Trump last year imposed sweeping new tariffs before starting the Mideast war in late February.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took office last May, vowed to borrow and spend hundreds of billions through a special infrastructure fund over coming years in what was dubbed a spending "bazooka" aimed at getting the economy back on its feet.

But the economists said that much of the money was simply paying for day-to-day spending.

"Government expenditure on consumption is rising much more sharply than investment," economist Oliver Holtemoeller of the Halle Institute for Economic Research said. "That was not the idea behind changing the financing rules."

The outlook for the longer term was also dire.

Citing low productivity, industrial decline and an ageing population, the institutes warned that Germany's economy would soon be unable to grow sustainably.

"We have also reassessed the structural changes in the German economy and, in particular, revised our forecast for industrial growth downwards," Wollmershaeuser said.

In an era when "demographic change is hitting with full force", he said, "potential growth will come to a standstill by the end of the decade, and we will have to get used to average GDP growth rates of zero percent".

Speaking to broadcaster Welt TV, Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said the government was working on reducing labour taxes and energy costs but that Germans would have to get used to working more over the course of their lives.

"We need to make this country vigorous again," she said. "Germany needs to get its will to win back."

Business

19 Migrants Found Dead by Italian Coastguard off Lampedusa

Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
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19 Migrants Found Dead by Italian Coastguard off Lampedusa

Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS

The bodies of 19 migrants were recovered from a boat off the coast of Lampedusa on Wednesday by the Italian coastguard, the island's mayor told AFP.

Mayor Filippo Mannino said seven other migrants, including two children, were being treated for "hypothermia and intoxication from hydrocarbon fumes".

The coastguard rescue was staged some 135 kilometers (85 miles) off the Italian island, according to news agency ANSA.

The coastguard did not respond to AFP requests for information.

The rescue operation occurred in the early hours of Wednesday inside Libya's search-and-rescue zone, ANSA reported.

"All are believed to have died of hypothermia," wrote the agency, which cited strong winds, rain, and temperatures of 10C, in the area.

Lampedusa is a key landing point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa, with many dying trying the dangerous journey.

So far this year, 624 migrants have died or gone missing in the central Mediterranean, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration.

Lampedusa's last migrant disaster occurred in August last year, when 27 people died in two shipwrecks off the coast.

According to the interior ministry, 6,117 migrants have landed on Italy's shores so far this year.

Business

Dollar Falls for Second Day as Middle East Ceasefire Expectations Rise

US dollar bills (Reuters)
US dollar bills (Reuters)
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Dollar Falls for Second Day as Middle East Ceasefire Expectations Rise

US dollar bills (Reuters)
US dollar bills (Reuters)

The dollar dropped for a second day on Wednesday as expectations of a ceasefire in the Middle East conflict grew after the US signalled that an end to the war could be near, even though markets remained on edge on fears of escalation.

The White House said US President Donald Trump would address the nation "to provide an important update on Iran" at 9 p.m. EDT on Wednesday (0100 GMT on Thursday).

Trump said on Tuesday the US could end its military campaign against Iran within two to three weeks, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News Washington could see the "finish line" in the Iran war, according to Reuters.

Expectations that a ceasefire could be near have reversed some of the most popular trades since the war began in late February.

The yen recovered from this year's low of 160.46 per dollar, moving back through the psychologically important 160 level that had fanned concerns about intervention by Japanese authorities. The euro hit its highest level in a week.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, was last down 0.3% at 99.456, slipping to a one-week low after a 0.65% fall on Tuesday.

"Markets are increasingly buying into the notion of de-escalation in the Middle East overall," said Kirstine Kundby-Nielsen, FX analyst at Danske Bank.

"Markets are optimistic. We're seeing some relief with rates going lower, equities going higher and the price action in euro-dollar reflects that quite well."

The euro edged up 0.5% versus the dollar to $1.1603, after rising 0.8% on Tuesday.

The Japanese yen was up 0.1% at 158.46 per dollar. Sterling strengthened 0.7% to $1.3313.

At the same time, there were still signs of escalation in the conflict.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the next few days in the war against Iran would be decisive and warned Tehran that the conflict would intensify if it did not make a deal.

The dollar should remain supported by the Fed's cautious stance on rate cuts, while the yen is being underpinned by rising expectations of a Bank of Japan hike in April, said Sho Suzuki, market analyst at Matsui Securities.

"We may see a tug-of-war between dollar strength and yen strength, with USD/JPY trading sideways in the upper 150s," he said.

The Australian dollar strengthened 0.7% to $0.6946. New Zealand's kiwi strengthened 0.4% to $0.5770.