Egypt Govt Aims to Move to New Administrative Capital by End of 2021

The Egyptian government meets on Wednesday. (Egyptian government)
The Egyptian government meets on Wednesday. (Egyptian government)
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Egypt Govt Aims to Move to New Administrative Capital by End of 2021

The Egyptian government meets on Wednesday. (Egyptian government)
The Egyptian government meets on Wednesday. (Egyptian government)

The Egyptian government announced it will move to the New Administrative Capital (NAC) in the last quarter of 2021, revealing it will begin implementing a project to develop the capitals of governorates and major cities across the country.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly confirmed that workgroups of different ministries will move to government buildings for the trial operation ahead of the official transfer.

The PM announced that the government is implementing a project to develop the capitals, in accordance with the president’s directives.

He explained that the project includes the construction of about 500,000 housing units within the presidential initiative “Home for All Egyptians” and will contribute to achieving a qualitative leap along with other projects, within the framework of the “Decent Life” initiative to develop Egyptian villages.

The New Administrative Capital, located 75 kilometers east of Cairo, is among President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s most ambitious projects, costing about $300 billion.

Last March, Sisi said the inauguration of the NAC and the transference of government offices to carry out their duties from there will be “a birth of a new state.”

The new capital was scheduled to open last year but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

The cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center estimated the cost of NAC around EGP50 billion, from the proceeds of selling lands to investors.



US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as Washington moves to remove US sanctions on Syria to help the country rebuild following years of a civil war.

In December, opposition factions led by HTS ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Then-HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's president and said he wanted to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

HTS was previously known as al-Nusra Front when it was al-Qaeda's Syria branch. It broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

In May, Sharaa met with Trump in Riyadh where, in a major policy shift, the Republican president unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.

"This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the revocation will come into effect on Tuesday.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order terminating US sanctions program on Syria, a move that aims to end the country's isolation from the international financial system.

Syria's foreign ministry told Reuters that the lifting of sanctions on HTS was a "positive step toward correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement."

The written statement said Syria hoped the move would "contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation."

The ministry also said that Sharaa was planning to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The UN Security Council still has sanctions on both HTS and Sharaa himself, which require a Council decision to remove.