Op-ed

Embarking on a daring personal challenge just a fortnight ago, I set out on a mission to test the feasibility of living an entire day without cash. Absentmindedly leaving my trusty ATM card behind, I wanted to push the boundaries and see if it was possible to navigate through various transactions solely relying on digital means. Little did I know...

MARRAKESH – In the last two years, a series of international summits have focused on the future of the global financial architecture. But as we convened in Marrakesh for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, many were asking whether it made sense to try to fix the existing system. Some were already convinced that...

The African Union recently rolled out the Partnership to Accelerate Covid-19 Testing (PACT)) building on the lessons from past outbreaks and epidemics. In early 2014, when Ebola cases were first reported in the West African nations of Guinea and Liberia, Africa was taken by surprise. The spread of the virus from rural to urban areas was unprecedented, as transmission of...

Egypt’s  rulers   have   relied   upon for   their  foreign policy on   foreign patrons and rent seeking behavior to reinforce their position.  This policy is stubbornly persistent in the face of changing Global and Regional realities. The    main    reasons    being    the relative success enjoyed by  both President    Nasser   and   President Sadat in obtaining geo strategic rent during the Cold  War, first from...

Egypt was elected to chair the African Union (AU) for the year 2019. Grabbing this opportunity, Egyptians were exhibiting excessive pride on their preparations and aspirations to revitalize the African continent through trade and infrastructure partnership and cooperation.  The theme of AU’s summit for the 2019 was focusing on “Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced...

On March 23, 2020, I got the chance to attentively follow a scholarly discussion on ETV from 9.00-10.00 PM by Ibrahim Idris (Amb.), Teferra Beyene (Eng.), and Fekahmed Negash. The lively discussion motivated me to supplement their views and, in due course, also express my independent opinion. First of all, I would like to congratulate them for their scholarly professionalism...

On March 23, 2020, I got the chance to attentively follow a scholarly discussion on ETV from 9.00-10.00 PM by Ibrahim Idris (Amb.), Teferra Beyene (Eng.), and Fekahmed Negash. The lively discussion motivated me to supplement their views and, in due course, also express my independent opinion. First of all, I would like to congratulate them for their scholarly professionalism...

The COVID-19 outbreak is placing unprecedented strains on sophisticated health systems in Europe and Asia, with overstretched medical staff struggling to treat their patients and intensive care facilities overwhelmed in rich countries. Imagine then the effect on health systems in Africa when the virus takes a hold there. This crisis is already exposing glaring inequalities between the rich and the...