US first lady Jill Biden arrived in Cairo on Friday, meeting President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his wife Entisar Amer.
Ms Biden, who was met at the airport by Ms Amer, later had lunch with the Egyptian couple at the capital's Ittihadya palace, located in the leafy eastern suburb of Heliopolis.
She also visited a technical school in Cairo and later met young Egyptians at Al Azhar mosque, the world's premier seat of Sunni Islamic learning.
Al Azhar, located in Cairo's medieval quarter, has long been viewed as a bastion of moderation whose religious discourse disavows extremism and violence.
In keeping with Islamic traditions of modesty, Ms Biden went into Al Azhar wearing a long dress, with her hair covered.
It is the first visit by Ms Biden to Egypt since her husband took office in 2020. Last year, President Joe Biden visited the country for several hours to attend the UN climate summit in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh.
Ms Biden shared a grateful message with Ms Amer after her arrival.
“Thank you for the warm welcome to Egypt, 'Umm Al Dunya', Mrs Entisar Amer!” she wrote on Twitter.
“Umm Al Dunya” is Arabic for “Mother of the World”, one of several nicknames Egyptians and other Arabs sometimes use to refer to Egypt.
Ms Biden's visit coincided with a heatwave in Egypt, with the temperature rising above 40ºC.
Friday's unseasonal scorching heat followed a day when Cairo and other parts of Egypt were hit by a major sandstorm that turned the sky orange and four people died in related accidents.
The US first lady flew in from Amman, where she attended the wedding of Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein and Saudi architect Princess Rajwa. Egypt's first lady also attended the royal wedding.
She will be travelling on from Egypt to Morocco and Portugal, the final stop of her tour.
Her visit to Egypt is focused on the empowerment of women and education for young people, two fields to which Mr El Sisi has been paying much attention since coming to office in 2014.
Ms Biden's spokeswoman Vanessa Valdivia told The Associated Press last week that the first lady's visit to Egypt would also focus on US investments that support educational programmes.
Egypt is one of the world's largest recipients of American economic and military aid. At present, it receives an annual $1.3 billion in military aid.
It is a long-standing US ally but in recent years, the US Congress has sought to condition aid on human rights improvements and reforms.
The close relations between Egypt and the US date back to the 1970s, when in 1979, Egypt became the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel, Washington's closest Middle East ally.
The two countries also maintain close counter-terrorism co-operation and regularly hold joint war games.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
