UAE, Egypt Coordinate Efforts to Enhance Investment Projects

Egyptian Minister of Local Development, Hisham Amna, during his meeting with UAE Ambassador to Cairo, Maryam al-Kaabi (Ministry of Local Development)
Egyptian Minister of Local Development, Hisham Amna, during his meeting with UAE Ambassador to Cairo, Maryam al-Kaabi (Ministry of Local Development)
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UAE, Egypt Coordinate Efforts to Enhance Investment Projects

Egyptian Minister of Local Development, Hisham Amna, during his meeting with UAE Ambassador to Cairo, Maryam al-Kaabi (Ministry of Local Development)
Egyptian Minister of Local Development, Hisham Amna, during his meeting with UAE Ambassador to Cairo, Maryam al-Kaabi (Ministry of Local Development)

Egypt and the UAE agreed to continue coordination and communication to enhance cooperation in investment projects.

This came as the UAE welcomed cooperation with the Egyptian government on the presidential initiative "A Decent Life."

Egyptian Minister of Local Development, Hisham Amna, met with the UAE Ambassador to Cairo, Maryam al-Kaabi, reiterating the deep Egyptian-Emirati relations at all political, economic, and cultural levels.

The Egyptian Minister welcomed the Emirati investments in Cairo, asserting the government's keenness to provide all support to increase and expand investments in a way that contributes to job opportunities.

Kaabi referred to the directives of the UAE leadership to provide all necessary support to further deepen bilateral relations with Egypt in all fields, especially the economic and investment sectors, and to make every effort to attract more Emirati investors to Egypt.

She praised the presidential initiative to develop the Egyptian countryside, which would contribute to changing the lives of millions of citizens.

Kaabi referred to the critical role played by the Egyptian community in all sectors, and Egyptian competencies that contributed to the building and renaissance of the UAE, pointing to the directives of the UAE leadership to provide all necessary support to deepen further bilateral relations between the two countries in all fields.

Egypt enjoys great human power in the Arab world and possesses advantages and economic elements that make it capable of attracting investments. She said it is also distinguished as a central hub and regional center for transit to the African continent and Europe.

The Local Development Ministry stated that the meeting reviewed areas of cooperation between the Ministry of Local Development and the UAE, especially in training, qualifying cadres, and supporting small, medium, and micro-enterprise projects.

The Egyptian Minister welcomed the exchange of experiences with the UAE regarding Egypt's hosting of the World Urban Forum at its 12th session in 2024, after the Emirate's successful hosting of the "Urban Forum" in 2020.

He also reviewed several areas of cooperation between Egypt and the UAE, including supporting the Ministry's "Local Development Fund" for small and micro-credit for women and the economic blocs of some governorates, especially in Upper Egypt.



Trump Vows New Tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

FILE PHOTO: US President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, US, November 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, US, November 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Trump Vows New Tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

FILE PHOTO: US President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, US, November 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, US, November 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

US President-elect Donald Trump vowed on Monday to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.

He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, as one of his first executive orders.

In a series of posts to his Truth Social account, Trump vowed to hit some of the United States' largest trading partners with duties on all goods entering the country.

“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff on ALL products coming into the United States,” he wrote, according to AFP.

He said the new tariffs would remain in place “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”

The President ignored the US, Mexico and Canada three-decade-old free trade agreement, now called the USMCA.

In another post, Trump said he would also be slapping China with a 10% tariff, “above any additional Tariffs,” in response to what he said was its failure to tackle fentanyl smuggling.

“No one will win a trade war,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China's embassy in the United States, told AFP by email, defending Beijing's efforts to curb fentanyl smuggling.

“China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature,” Liu added.

Canada said it was “essential” to US energy supplies, and insisted the relationship benefits American workers.

“We will of course continue to discuss these issues with the incoming administration,” said the statement from Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Tariffs are a key part of Trump's economic agenda, with the Republican vowing wide-ranging duties on allies and adversaries alike while he was on the campaign trail.

Many economists have warned that tariffs would hurt growth and push up inflation, since they are primarily paid by importers bringing the goods into the US, who often pass those costs on to consumers.

But those in Trump's inner circle have insisted that the tariffs are a useful bargaining chip for the US to push its trading partners to agree to more favorable terms, and to bring back manufacturing jobs from overseas.