The United Nations Support Mission in Libya said that members of the “4+4” mini-committee held a meeting, Thursday, in the Tunisian capital, during which they discussed the completion of the first two steps of the road map facilitated by the United Nations. According to the German News Agency, the mission reported on its official website, on Thursday, that during the meeting, which was facilitated by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Hannah Tetteh, the participants initialed the draft of the final agreement, and agreed to meet again inside Libya before the end of this month, with the aim of making arrangements related to implementing the agreement and announcing it officially.
After the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of State failed to agree on the laws for the presidential and parliamentary elections, which have been stalled since 2021; The mission resorted to forming a mini-committee consisting of two members from each council, in addition to two members chosen by the Tripoli government, and a similar number of members chosen by the leadership of the armed forces in Benghazi. The committee was tasked with changing the structure of the Board of Directors of the High National Elections Commission, naming a new president, and drafting election laws that were disputed between the east and west of the country. On the seventh of last July, the mission announced that the committee had completed the discussion of all outstanding issues, and agreed to assign a working group from among its members to undertake the drafting of the final agreement. However, the committee was unable to complete its work and sign the minutes of its previous agreements as was scheduled in mid-July, without the mission, or the members of the committee, disclosing the reasons for the delay, or publishing the agreed-upon electoral laws.
It is noteworthy that the Libyans failed to hold presidential and parliamentary elections that were scheduled for December 24, 2021, due to a dispute between the east and west of the country over the laws for electing the president, and due to the candidacy of personalities described as controversial. Since 2014, Libya has suffered from a political division that appears in the presence of two legislative bodies (the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of State), two governments in Tripoli and Benghazi, and two chiefs of staff of the army.
The Egyptian government is moving toward implementing a “cash support” system instead of “in-kind,” and expanding the “goods” that beneficiaries can obtain through ration cards to include red meat and poultry, in a move that raises concerns about implementation mechanisms.
The government’s adherence to this path appeared clear in Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s statements during a government meeting on Wednesday, as he stressed that “developing the monetary support mechanism represents one of the paths to modernizing the support system.”
He cited international experiences that adopted this approach completely or gradually, as it is “a means of enhancing social justice and giving the citizen a wider space to choose his needs according to his priorities.”
However, the transition to the new system raises concerns among sectors of Egyptians, according to Member of Parliament Ahmed Farghaly, who told Asharq Al-Awsat, “The expected change affects about 64 million beneficiaries of the food supply system, each of whom currently receives a monthly support of 50 pounds that can be spent on a specific list of goods at approved outlets, but the value that the beneficiary will receive in the new monetary system is still not finally decided.”
However, the head of the Grocery Division at the Giza Chamber of Commerce, Hisham El-Dagwi, estimated in media statements that “a ration card consisting of four people may receive about 1,300 pounds per month (a dollar equals 50.9 pounds) and can be used to purchase a wider range of goods, including red meat, vegetables, and food supplies.”
As ambiguity continues regarding the final details of the system, the government intends to launch a media campaign to inform citizens of the cash support mechanisms and its objectives, and to answer their questions about how to benefit from it, in addition to clarifying the advantages that the government believes will result from its implementation, according to what it announced in a recent official statement.
The government is basing its defense of the “transformation” on what it considers to be shortcomings in the existing in-kind support system, including limited options for beneficiaries, and the loss and leakage rates associated with the system.
Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Sherif Farouk recently indicated that the new system will give the citizen “the actual value of the goods” allocated to him, allowing him greater freedom of choice according to his family’s needs.
Despite his acknowledgment of the advantages of “cash support” in terms of giving the citizen an amount that allows him to choose the goods he needs, former Minister of Supply, Jouda Abdel Khaleq, does not support the transition to this system, warning that “its timing may exacerbate existing problems instead of addressing them.”
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that one of the most prominent concerns is “the presence of citizens who hold ration cards and do not deserve support, compared to others who deserve it but do not hold cards,” considering that “addressing these imbalances should precede the transition to the new support system.”
Abdel Khaleq warns that “the continuation of inflation and the decline in the purchasing power of the pound may make the monetary value of the support less able to protect the most needy groups compared to in-kind support, in the absence of clear and effective mechanisms to control markets and prices.” He also expressed his fears that “an uncontrolled transfer will lead to the benefit of merchants and intermediaries at the expense of the low-income citizen.”
Inflation rates in Egypt rose to 14.9 percent last July, compared to 14.3 percent last June, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
According to observers, “talk about monetary support does not represent a new trend in Egyptian economic policy; The first indications of the idea of switching from in-kind to cash support date back to the era of former President Hosni Mubarak, before the discussion about the system crystallized more clearly in July 2024 when the government discussed the mechanisms for the transition, and commissioned the Egyptian National Dialogue to develop a vision for the proposal.
However, the transition from proposing the idea to implementing it on a large scale was still under study, and the government did not announce until mid-2026 a deadline for implementing the system comprehensively, while it continued to assert that the transition would be gradual.
In the middle of last month, the government renewed its adherence to this path in the financial statement for the new fiscal year budget, which was presented by Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk to the House of Representatives, speaking about “continuing the gradual shift to cash support, while continuing to allocate significant resources to the support system and social protection programs.”
On Wednesday, the government announced the expansion of the list of commodities that can be obtained through support to go beyond basic commodities currently in circulation, such as oil, sugar, and pasta, to include red meat, milk, lentils, eggs, and poultry, which reflects a trend towards giving the family a greater space in determining priorities for spending the value of the support.
But the inclusion of red meat and poultry in particular raises economic questions in light of their high and fluctuating prices, which prompted Rashad Abdo, head of the “Egyptian Forum for Economic Studies,” to be surprised by “the proposal to provide financial support allocated to the purchase of goods whose prices are at record high levels,” wondering about the extent of the ability of the specific monetary value of the support, which is still not officially announced, to keep pace with price movements and protect beneficiaries from the erosion of their purchasing power.
The unrest taking place in the Black Sea region raises Egyptian fears that wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine will be affected due to the disruption of some shipments.
While some experts said that “the shortage of supplies is affecting the private sector, and that some importers are looking for other sources of import,” an official in the Ministry of Agriculture downplayed the impact of the crisis on the immediate level thanks to the government’s record purchases of local wheat.
Egypt's wheat imports jumped during the first half of this year by about 48 percent to record 7.7 million tons after the decision to raise the strategic reserve of basic commodities to be sufficient for 9 months of consumption instead of 6 months, while Cairo is one of the largest importers of wheat around the world, with about 12 million tons imported annually to meet local demand.
With the escalation of Russian-Ukrainian attacks on ships and ports in the Black Sea region, fears have increased in the global wheat market of supply shortages and high import costs. According to a Reuters report, “standard wheat futures contracts on the Chicago Stock Exchange have risen by more than 17 percent since the beginning of last July.”
The importance of the crisis for Egypt increases, as Russia and Ukraine acquired more than 82 percent of the country’s wheat imports during the first half of 2026.
Reuters recently reported “the fears of traders in the Egyptian private sector about increasing pressure on importers due to the lack of supplies,” and indicated “the tendency of some importers to search for alternative sources.”
According to Rajab Shehata, a member of the Grain Industry Chamber of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, “Egyptian importers’ concerns from the private sector stem mainly from global wheat prices.” He says, “The problem caused by the unrest in the Black Sea region and other corridors affects supply chains and the high cost of imports from abroad.”
He explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that “some Egyptian importers are looking for other sources of import, such as France and the United States,” but he pointed out that “these fronts supply wheat at higher prices than Russian and Ukrainian wheat.”
According to Reuters, a ship that was scheduled to carry grains to Egypt was attacked last week as it approached the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
A government source downplayed the impact of the Black Sea disturbances on wheat imports to Egypt, and said, “The government is moving to reduce the import bill after the increase in domestic production rates this year,” in addition to “securing a strategic reserve sufficient for more than 6 months.” He pointed out that “there are no concerns at the immediate level.”
The percentage increase in local wheat production in Egypt compared to last year was about 20 percent, at 4.72 million tons this year, after farmers supplied only about 3.93 million tons in 2025, according to data issued by the Ministry of Agriculture.
The source confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that “there is no impact on incoming wheat shipments so far,” adding that “Cairo has good relations with Russia and Ukraine, and has maintained trade exchanges with them throughout recent years,” noting that “the safe reserve of wheat and grains reduces pressure on the government due to regional and international unrest.”
