A. Visit of EU Commissioner for External Relations and Neighborhood Policy to Egypt: 1- The EU Commissioner for External Relations and Neighborhood Policy announced during her visit to Egypt that the EU will release the Plan of Action (POA) for the EU Neighborhood policy on March 6th, which will help in enhancing the cooperation relation and partnership between the EU and the neighboring countries, including Egypt. She assured that the plan will include a program to provide 558 million Euros to Egypt during the coming 4 years to support the economic, social and political reform process in Egypt. 2- She further explained that the EU will cooperate closely with Egypt according to the POA in major fields like education (for which 120 million EU will be provided), opening and liberalization of commercial markets, healthcare, environment and the energy sectors as well as agricultural exports and the service sector. 3- On the other hand, the Prime Minister stressed during his meeting with the EU commissioner the importance of enhancing Egyptian-European relations in different fields primarily the energy sector, as well as human development especially education, healthcare, scientific research, and training to achieve Egypt's development goals and raise the understanding between the two cultures. B. The Minister of Finance Assures that there are no intentions for reductions on the vehicles custom duties: 1- During his meeting with the members of the Canadian Chamber of commerce in Egypt, the minister of finance assured that there are no intentions for reductions on the vehicles customs. Meanwhile, the government is studying the restructuring of road networks in order to increase their capacities, given that the gasoline price in Egypt is less than in petroleum countries. 2- The minister pointed out that whereas the first phase of customs adjustments in 2004 targeted the producer, the new reductions target the consumer, thus decreasing the duties weighted-average to 20% with the potential of undertaking further reductions in the next 18 months. Meanwhile, there has been allocation of 150m EGP to support the small enterprises in the weaving sector suffering from the consequences of the latest customs reductions. 3- On the other hand, the minister of finance assured that the new customs declaration is applied in many countries around the world. According to this declaration, each passenger should declare the amount of money in his possession if it exceeds 10 thousand USD, given that the current applied mechanism will be modified to allow for better service. 4- Regarding the sales tax law, the minister of finance assured that it will be modified into s value added law. Meanwhile, the draft of the new insurance and pension law will be ready by the beginning of 2008. C. Developments in the Macroeconomic Indicators: 1- According to the minister of finance, FDI has exceeded 6bn USD, the foreign reserves reached 28bn USD, whereas the unemployment rate has declined to 8.5% and both the balance of payments and the current account have witnessed surplus. 2- On the other hand, the minister of finance pointed out that the modified real estate tax law aims at widening the tax base while reducing the tax rates. Moreover, the government is currently undertaking policies aiming at reducing the budget deficit, although large, yet is under control. He also attributed the rise in the inflation rate to the rise in international energy prices and added that the inflation curve has started its downward turn and that the government is keen on raising the growth rate that has reached 7%, so as to improve income levels and reduce disparities. D. INA Nafta Achieves A Large Oil Discovery in the Western Desert: 1- The Croatian Company, INA Nafta achieved a new oil discovery in the western Desert, 3 Kilo meters off the Mediterranean Coast. The well's tests resulted in a daily production rate of about 3200 barrels of crude oil 49 API which is globally regarded as one of the best crudes, in addition to proven reserves of 31 million barrels approximately. 2- The recent available information point out the presence of other geological formations of which reserves are estimated with about 21 million barrels of crude oil which means, increasing the area's total reserves to reach about 52 million barrels of crude oil. E. Minister of Petroleum Inaugurates the Propylene Project in Port Said: 1- The Minister of Petroleum inaugurated on the 26th of February a petrochemical project to produce propylene and polypropylene at Al-Gameel industrial area in Port Said Governorate and declared that the completion of the first phase of the Petrochemical Master Plan is under-way, comprising 8 projects with total investments of about 6 billion dollars, of which 3.5 billion dollars as foreign direct investments. 2- The projects partners are the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) and Gasco with  a share of 26%, the Orientals Group (Mr. Mohamed Faried Khamis) with 26% as well as a group of Arab investors with 48%. 3- The designed capacity of the project is about 350 thousand tons/year and an investment cost of $750 million. The project's location is quite unique and distinctive, regarding its ability to export products to the European markets after meeting the local market requirements. 4- Also, a contract has been signed with the contractor, the international company "UHDA" to implement the project's with the participation of the Egyptian Petroleum Companies Enppi and Petrojet to execute all the project's construction works, manufacturing equipments so as to start operations by the end of 2009. F. A New Protocol to establish a Russian Industrial Zone in Burg el Arab: 1- Egypt and Russia will sign a protocol to establish a Russian industrial zone in the Egyptian market during a visit for the Russian minister of industry and energy in the coming April heading a delegation of businessmen. 2- The Minister of Trade and industry pointed out that the establishment of the Russian industrial zone in the industrial city of Burg el Arab was agreed upon during President Mubarak's last visit to Moscow and it will include a number of Russian companies willing to establish projects in Egypt in the fields of vehicle, passenger airplanes, and computer assembly. These projects will provide the technological experience in production and will provide opportunities to train Egyptian workers on the most advanced technologies.