WATANI International
19 December 2010
Bidding for nuclear plant
Egypt will open international bidding for its first nuclear power plant construction by yearend. The facility is expected to cost between USD1.5 billion and USD1.8 billion, and will be fully operational in 2019. President Hosni Mubarak first announced plans to build a number of nuclear power plants in 2007, reviving a programme that was publicly shelved in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl accident. Egypt also plans to build three more nuclear plants by 2025, Electricity Minister Hassan Younis said.
Standard Euro-Med jobs
The Egyptian Organisation for Standardisation and Quality has been chosen by the European Union to draw new standards for jobs in Euro-Mediterranean countries, that will go into effect next year. The move came during the recent meeting of the Euro-Med industry ministers in Brussels, and is meant to achieve rapprochement at the vocational level among the Mediterranean states. On the Egyptian level, the drive contributes to honing the skills of Egyptians and capitalising on European expertise to upgrade the various industrial sectors.
Swiss business
Representatives of Swiss companies and Swiss chambers and associations met their Egyptian peers in the machinery, food, medical equipment, pharmaceutical distribution, management consultation and service industries while on a visit to Cairo earlier this month. The Swiss Embassy in Cairo and the Swiss Egyptian Business Association SEBA, in collaboration with the General Authority for Free Zones (GAFI), organised a Match-Making Seminar at which the Swiss trade mission met several high-ranking Egyptian officials to discuss the latest technologies in their fields.
Anti-online piracy
For the first time in Africa and the Middle East, the Hacker Halted forum was held in Cairo last week. The forum tackled the latest techniques applied in the field of online information security, as well as the latest legislation in fighting Internet crimes.
Arab media
The 16th Cairo Arab Media Festival (CAMF) is set to start at the Media Production City west of Cairo next Tuesday and runs for three days. Kuwait has been selected to be the festival guest of honour. Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and the UAE will be participating along with Egypt.
Sohag hosts Arabs
The Upper Egyptian governorate of Sohag is currently hosting the 11th conference of the Arab Society for Economic Research. Held under the title “The Future of Arab Economies in light of Domestic and International Challenges”, The conference tackles the future of Arab economies in view of local and international challenges, particularly focusing on the investment challenges facing the Arab World in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Combatting drugs
Yuri Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and Amr Moussa, Secretary-General of the Arab League, earlier this month joined to launch in Cairo the regional programme for fighting drugs and updating criminal justice in Arab countries from 2011 to 2015. The programme centres on fighting illegal trade, organised crime and terrorism; enhancing integrity; achieving justice; protecting from drugs; and improving health. The Arab region faces joint problems such as cross-border organised crime, illegal drug trade and human trafficking, illegal movement of immigrants and weapons, terrorism and money laundering.
AIDS day
A conference was held in Cairo earlier this month by the United Nation’s AIDS program in cooperation with the World Health Organisation of the Middle East to raise awareness about AIDS. The conference highlighted the challenges of achieving comprehensive protection, support, care and medication.