Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shoukry left Cairo Saturday night for a three-day European tour that include visits to Russia, Estonia and Lithuania that would discuss bolstering economic, political and trade ties with Egypt, state news agency MENA reported.

The US dollar maintained its rates against the Egyptian pound within banking dealings Sunday. According to the last price updates, the US dollar exchange rate settled at LE17.73 for purchase and LE17.83 for sale in the National Bank of Greece, to mark the highest price among the all the banks.

Moody’s Investors Service has asserted that Egypt’s credit rating for the issuer and senior unsecured bond is at B3 and maintained their view of stable outlook, according to a report published on Friday. Moreover, the rating affirmation is based on Moody’s view that the B3 rating is a fair representation of Egypt’s credit risk profile. Very weak government finances will continue to compel the rating pending further clarity on the sustainability and impact of the reform programme.

Egypt s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr will meet on Sunday with a delegation from the World Bank to discuss final procedures before giving Egypt the final $1 billion tranche of a $3 billion loan, the ministry announced Wednesday. Nasr met on Wednesday in Cairo with the regional director of the International Bank in Egypt Assad Allam, where they discussed preparations for the upcoming visit by World Bank representatives.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi arrived in Chad s capital N Djamena on Thursday, the last stop of his four-state African tour. El-Sisi was received in an official ceremony attended by President Idriss Deby and top Chadian government officials, Egypt s state news agency MENA reported.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is set to head next week on a European tour that includes Russia and Estonia to discuss bilateral ties, a statement by the foreign ministry read. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Shoukry will deliver a letter from Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to Russian President Vladimir Putin that would underline Egypt’s interest in bolstering ties with Russia.

Residents of Cairo s Warraq Island – who the government says are residing there illegally – have chosen a committee of 10 members, instead of 30 as proposed by authorities, to negotiate with the government over the fate of their homes, the former head of Warraq Island s local council Yehia El-‎Maghraby told Ahram Online. Earlier this week, the head of the Armed Forces Engineering ‎Authority Kamel El-Wazir asked the island s residents to form a 30-member committee to talk with the government and reach a compromise.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi arrived in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, on Tuesday at the start of a two-day visit. El-Sisi was officially received by Rwandan officials at Kigali international airport. He then visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial site, where he paid his respects to the victims of the Rwanda genocide.

The Emirati ambassador in Egypt Gomaa Mubarak Al-Jneibi praised on Tuesday the relations between his country and Egypt, saying the UAE is one of the biggest Arab investors in Egypt at $4.9 billion in investments, state-run news agency MENA reported. The ambassador s comments came during the opening ceremony in Cairo of the EgyVac factory for vaccines, which is part of the Egyptian Company for Production of Vaccines, Sera, and Drugs (VACSERA).

Egypt appointed Sayed Ibrahim Mohamed Salam as interim chief of the National Railway Authority on Monday, one day after the resignation of the authority s director following a train collision in Alexandria that killed at least 41 people and injured 179. Salam, who was the deputy head of the railway authority s safety and quality department, was appointed by Transportation Minister Hisham Arafat, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

Parliament member Esmail Nasr al-Din recently unveiled a draft law to extend the presidential period from four years to six years. According to an official statement released from Nasr El-Din, the suggested draft law will extend the presidential term to six years instead of four for the sake of helping the president to execute his plans.

Prosecutors in Alexandria have ordered the detention for 15 days of the drivers of two trains that collided near Alexandria on Friday killing dozens of people, state-run news agency MENA said on Sunday. The prosecutors ordered the two drivers be detained and given drugs tests pending the results of a probe into the causes of the crash.

Thousands of workers at the Mahalla Textile and Weaving Company in Egypt s Mahalla city continued an open strike at their factory for the seventh day in a row on Sunday, while negotiations with the factory administration and the Ministry of Public Business are ongoing.

The US exchange rate against the Egyptian pound maintained its rates within bank dealings on Sunday. According to the most recent price updates, the US dollar price was recorded at LE17.75 for purchase and LE17.85 for sale in the National Bank of Egypt (NBE).

Head of the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces Major General Kamel al-Wazeer met a delegation of al-Warraq island’s residents to discuss ways to compensate people whose houses were demolished, informed sources told al-Masry al-Youm Wednesday. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi joined the meeting via telephone, assuring the residents directly that no one would be harmed.

Parliamentary speaker Ali Abd al-Aal on Wednesday called on MPs to amend the 2014 draft of the constitution, claiming that it was drafted at a time of state instability.

Egypt expects its growth domestic product growth to reach 4.6 percent to 4.8 percent in the 2017-18 fiscal year, Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy said in a televised interview late on Tuesday. Egypt s fiscal year begins in July and ends in June. GDP growth stood at 4.1 percent for the 2016-17 fiscal year, a presidency statement said earlier.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has agreed to the establishment of a joint development company between the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone and Dubai Ports to execute development projects in the Suez Canal area, stressing that the Egyptian government will work on facilitating the accomplishment of these project as soon as possible. President El-Sisi met Wednesday with the head of the Suez Canal Authority, Mohab Mamish, and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the CEO of Dubai Ports.

Egypt received its second Type-209/1400 submarine from Germany on Tuesday at a ceremony in the German city of Kiel, according to a statement from Egypt s military spokesman. Commander of the Egyptian Navy Ahmed Khalid, raised the Egyptian flag on the submarine, manufactured by the German company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

Egypt is looking to reverse a series of bans on its agricultural products that has hit one of its most promising export sectors, Abdel Hamid al-Demerdash, the head of Egypt s Agriculture Export Council told Reuters. Egyptian crops from strawberries to peppers have been hit by temporary bans in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on concerns over pesticides residues. Sudan introduced a blanket ban in May on agricultural products from Egypt.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ratified a law on Monday for the creation of a National Electoral Commission (NEC) to supervise the nation s elections and referendums, state-run news agency MENA reported. According to the 37-article law, which was passed on 21 June, the NEC will be an independent authority with sole responsibility for the holding of general elections and referendums in Egypt.