I imagine many officials and staff at the General Authority for Investment (GAFI) and the Ministry of Investment —some of them old colleagues of mine from my tenure as GAFI chair from 2004 to 2007 — felt a pang of frustration when it was announced (...)
With every incident of terrorism or attack on the armed forces or police in recent years, all Egyptians, with the exception of a few malicious gloaters, unfailingly express their anger at such criminal acts, their appreciation for martyrs' (...)
A happy night it was when our national team qualified for the World Cup thanks to Mohammed Salah's two goals and the efforts of the entire team, led by veteran Essam al-Hadari. It was all the more thrilling for coming in the apprehensive final (...)
As the summer and holiday season draws to a close, the annual investment season begins: economic conferences, government visits, delegations of investors and analysts from around the world. This year is no different, though there is increased (...)
In our feverish media climate, we at times devote intense attention to issues of trivial importance in people's lives—for several weeks this summer, for example, we were engrossed in news of the jellyfish bloom on the North Coast—while other much (...)
The US government last week suspended part of its annual economic aid to Egypt, citing the continued enforcement of the NGO law. The decision sparked angry reactions from government and media circles in Egypt, as well as from the general (...)
Some in parliament and the media have recently called for amendments to the constitution. Whether these calls are part of a concrete strategy, the brainchild of a few enthusiastic individuals, or simply a trial balloon to test public opinion, we (...)
A couple of weeks ago, residents of Warraq Island (in the Nile north of Cairo) clashed with police a few weeks ago following a decision to remove encroachments on the island, according to the official story. After one person was killed, dozens (...)
Political parties around the world typically vie for public support based on their ideas and platforms, pitting left against right, conservatives against liberals, and partisans of globalisation against skeptics.
In Egypt, however, the real (...)
I received many comments on last week's column about those jailed for protesting the Tiran and Sanafir agreement with Saudi Arabia and my urging for their release and the dismissal of the cases against them.
Some comments were supportive, defending (...)
During the last few months I followed the arrests of several young people who protested the border agreement with Saudi Arabia according to which Egypt would give up the Tiran and Sanafir islands. These protests, it should be noted, were all (...)
It's widely thought among the public and media that steep price increases over the last year were a result of government decisions to float the pound, institute a VAT, and cut energy subsidies. While largely true—all these measures have inflationary (...)
The worst thing is for the people to pay the price of fiscal reform without getting its reward. And this is exactly what is happening now.
Every economic decision inevitably entails a cost and a benefit. Under the program agreed between the (...)
State media warmly welcomed recent government decisions increasing some pensions and subsidies, seeing them as an expression of the state's concern for poor and low-income Egyptians, and an effort to mitigate the impact of inflation, and calm (...)
I write these words as the parliamentary debate on the border agreement with Saudi Arabia is still underway. All indications are, however, that parliament will approve the deal and Egypt will relinquish the Tiran and Sanafir Islands. If that (...)
Although I've often expressed my reservations about the draft investment law over the past year, it was necessary that the law is enacted, as it was last Thursday, to end the long-standing uncertainty that has gravely damaged the investment climate. (...)
Condolences to the families of the terrorist attack victims in Minya, and the entire Egyptian people, are necessary. But this time our sympathies, no matter how heartfelt, are not enough. We must stop and ask the difficult questions and think about (...)
The constitution affirms that “there shall be no crime or punishment except pursuant to a law” (Article 95). In other words, a person can't be accused, prosecuted, and convicted of a crime unless it is stated and defined in a law. Thus you can't be (...)
Saturday's decision by the general assembly of the State Council (the administrative law judiciary) to nominate solely Judge Yehya El-Dakrouri as its president came as a surprise, constituting a clear challenge to the law issued just two weeks ago (...)
I didn't intend to speak of the investment law again, having already written about it several times, first to criticize the changes made in March 2015, on the eve of the Sharm al-Sheikh conference, and later to express reservations about the draft (...)
In two weeks time, the second round of the French presidential elections will pit the top two contenders in the initial round: the first a political blank slate, a candidate affiliated with no party, no current, and no particular ideology; the (...)
The declaration of a state of emergency last week prompted no major controversy. The president made the declaration on Monday evening, the government approved it immediately upon receipt, and parliament ratified it the next day, after MPs agreed to (...)
I happened to be in al-Duweir village, Assiut governorate, with friends and family when we heard the shocking news of the bombing of the two churches. We had just been exchanging well wishes for Palm Sunday and Easter, and suddenly everything (...)
Often the media occupies itself with the minutiae of current events without giving the reader enough basic information.
The ongoing dispute over laws governing the judiciary is a good example. So let me first outline the issue as I understand it (...)
I guess it is perfectly normal for the government to halt distribution of school meals after thousands of students were thought poisoned by them and to request an immediate investigation into what happened and who is responsible. I fear, however, (...)