Below please find a summary of news you may have missed in the last week about Egypt, the Egypt-U.S. partnership, and other relevant issues. In this issue:

1. IMF Completes Second Review Mission of Egypt’s Economic Reform Program
2. Standard & Poor’s Raises Egypt’s Credit Outlook to ‘Positive’
3. U.S. Embassy Cairo Helps Egyptians Hone Skills During Global Entrepreneurship Week
4. Unemployment Rate Falls in Third Quarter
5. Unseen Treasures of ‘King Tut’ on Display for The First Time
6. Egypt To Integrate SMEs into the Formal Economy with New Strategy
7. Egypt Building New Seawater Desalination Plant, Fish Farms
8. Mohamed Salah Nominated for BBC African Footballer of the Year

— — —

IMF COMPLETES SECOND REVIEW MISSION OF EGYPT’S ECONOMIC REFORM PROGRAM
On Friday, 10 November, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed its second review of Egypt’s economic reform program, which has been supported by a three-year IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan. According to a statement issued by the IMF, Egypt’s “government is spearheading a comprehensive and ambitious agenda of structural reforms to unlock Egypt’s growth potential. The reform plan aims to create well-paying jobs to meet the rapidly growing population by paving the way for increased private sector-led investment, productivity growth, and enhanced competition.”

STANDARD & POOR’S RAISES EGYPT’S CREDIT OUTLOOK TO ‘POSITIVE’
In a statement issued on Friday, 10 November, Standard and Poor’s raised Egypt’s economic outlook to ‘positive’ from ‘stable,’ stating that economic growth is strengthening while foreign currency reserves continue to rise. According to the statement, the decision to improve Egypt’s outlook rating “reflects strengthening growth alongside the implementation of ambitious reforms, which are supported by a three-year US$12 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program.” In a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance,  Minister of Finance Amr El Garhy welcomed the decision and “stressed the existence of the political will to support the completion of the implementation of the comprehensive national reform program.”

U.S. EMBASSY IN CAIRO HELPS EGYPTIANS HONE SKILLS DURING GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK
This week, U.S. Embassy Cairo and U.S. Consulate General Alexandria hosted an array of activities aimed at engaging young Egyptians and energizing the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Egypt. According to a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy, Chargé d’Affaires Thomas Goldberger said “in the past five years, hundreds of startups and youth initiatives have been launched all over Egypt—some receiving worldwide recognition. The U.S. government is committed to supporting this spirit of innovation by helping entrepreneurs hone the skills they need to be successful.”

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FALLS IN THIRD QUARTER
The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced this week that the Labor Force Survey results for the third quarter of 2017 showed that the unemployment rate had fallen to 11.9%, down from 11.98% in the second quarter of 2017 and 12.6% in the third quarter of 2016. Egypt aims to reduce unemployment from 12% to 4% and double the investment rate from 16% to 30% as part of the Egypt 2030 Vision, according to Deputy Minister of Planning Nehal El Maghraby.

UNSEEN TREASURES OF ‘KING TUT’ ON DISPLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME
Antiquity Minister Khaled Al Anany unveiled a temporary exhibition at the Egyptian Museum this week that showcases previously unseen golden treasures belonging to Tutankhamun.  The exhibition entitled ‘Tutankhamun’s Unseen Treasures: the Golden Flakes’ will run for 45 days before the treasures are moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum in Al Remaya Square, to be displayed at the partial inauguration of the Museum in 2018.

EGYPT TO INTEGRATE SMEs INTO THE FORMAL ECONOMY WITH NEW STRATEGY
The Ministries of Finance and Trade & Industry are introducing a comprehensive plan to regulate small and medium-sized enterprises aimed at facilitating Egypt’s smaller ‘informal’ businesses to join the formal economy. According to Al Mal News, the “Egyptian government is studying the option of linking the entry [of SMEs] into the official economy by granting access to utilities and water as well as credit facilities.” The report quotes a government official as saying “partial or total relief from taxes will be stipulated in the drafting of a new SMEs’ bill, as rules governing SMEs will be reviewed every five years to see whether taxes are adequately adjusted to inflation rates.”

EGYPT BUILDING WORLD’S LARGEST SEAWATER DESALINATION PLANT
Egypt’s Armed Forces Engineering Authority announced on Wednesday that Egypt will build a new seawater desalination plant in Ain Sokhna. When complete, the plant will be able to purify 164,000 cubic meters of seawater daily, making it the world’s largest. Egypt has been a leader in desalination and has built several other desalination plants that have a daily capacity of 100,000 cubic meters. Egypt Independent also reported that Egypt will build the largest fish farm in the Middle East, which will consist of “a hatchery for fish and shrimp on an area of 17 feddans with a capacity of 20 million fish and two billion shrimp.”

MOHAMED SALAH NOMINATED FOR BBC AFRICAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR
Calling him “King of the Pharaohs,” the BBC has nominated Egyptian soccer star Mohamed Salah as a candidate for African Footballer of the Year this week. Voting is open on the BBC’s website until 27 November—vote for Mohamed, and we’ll see you at the World Cup in 2018!