Egyptian Cabinet to Benefit from Former Headquarters in Investment

Madbouly follows up efforts to benefit from state headquarters across the country. (Egyptian government)
Madbouly follows up efforts to benefit from state headquarters across the country. (Egyptian government)
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Egyptian Cabinet to Benefit from Former Headquarters in Investment

Madbouly follows up efforts to benefit from state headquarters across the country. (Egyptian government)
Madbouly follows up efforts to benefit from state headquarters across the country. (Egyptian government)

The Egyptian government seeks to benefit from its former headquarters following the transfer of ministries into the New Administrative Capital.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stressed the government’s keenness on continuous follow-up of the state assets and on taking necessary steps to optimize them.

The PM noted that there are reports on several assets across the Egyptian provinces, including many proposals and recommendations on exploiting these assets by issuing them for investment by the private sector to achieve more returns.

Madbouly held a meeting on Thursday to follow up on optimizing the state assets. The meeting was attended by several ministers.

Egyptian government spokesperson Nader Saad said the meeting touched on some of the assets in the provinces of Cairo and Giza that overlook the Nile River in order to optimize them by issuing them for investment.

Last month, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met with Madbouly and cabinet members at the Strategic Leadership Center in the New Administrative Capital.

The spokesman for the Presidency, Ahmed Fahmy, stated that the meeting discussed the government's plan to relocate ministries and various state agencies and institutions to the new capital.

According to the spokesman, Sisi directed intensifying efforts to ensure the government's move to the capital was smooth.

He noted that it could only be achieved through the modernization of buildings and premises and the qualification of workers, and providing training programs to government personnel to teach them modern methods of administration.

"These efforts, in turn, would contribute to establishing an efficient and effective administrative body," he said.

Moreover, Saad added that the meeting pointed out that the Sovereign Fund of Egypt would start evaluating the assets which were showcased during the meeting and the buildings and lands they have.

The assessment will be based on global assessors for the sake of marketing the assets and establishing investment projects on them, especially since these lands are in unique regions on the Nile River.



Iran Seeks to Turn ‘New Page’ in Ties with Lebanon

 In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
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Iran Seeks to Turn ‘New Page’ in Ties with Lebanon

 In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lebanese officials on Tuesday that Iran wanted to turn a "new page" in relations with Beirut, hinting at a shift in diplomatic ties that were long grounded in supporting Tehran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah was once a powerful armed movement and political party with sway over Lebanon's state, but it was severely weakened by Israel's bombing campaign last year. Since then, Lebanon's army commander was elected president and a new cabinet with curtailed influence for Hezbollah and its allies took power.

Araqchi's one-day trip to Beirut on Tuesday was his first since February, when he attended the funeral of Hezbollah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, killed in Israeli air strikes in September.

Araqchi told both Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi that he wanted to "turn a new page" in Iran's ties with Lebanon, according to statements by Salam and Raggi's offices.

"Araqchi affirmed his country's keenness to open a new page in bilateral relations with Lebanon, based on mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs," Salam's office said. Araqchi also extended a formal invitation for Salam to visit Iran.

The statement from Raggi's office said the pair had a "frank and direct discussion," including on establishing the state's monopoly on the use of arms - an apparent reference to possible negotiations on the future of Hezbollah's arsenal.

The top Iranian diplomat briefly addressed reporters on Tuesday after meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is a key Hezbollah ally. Unlike previous addresses by Iranian diplomats, his comments did not mention Hezbollah.

The visit followed several turbulent episodes in ties between the two countries.

Lebanon's foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to Beirut in April over comments alleging that plans to disarm Hezbollah were a "conspiracy".

Last year, then-Prime Minister Najib Mikati also issued a rare rebuke of Iran for "interfering" in internal Lebanese affairs.

In February, Iran blocked Lebanese planes from repatriating dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in Tehran after Lebanon said it would not allow Iranian aircraft to land in Beirut because of Israel's threats that it would bomb the planes.