Ministers and aviation experts from Africa and the Middle East gathered in Sharm El-Sheikh on Tuesday at the start of a three-day conference on aviation security. The Regional Ministerial Conference on Aviation Security in Africa and the Middle East runs from 22 to 24 August, with the participation of some 400 officials involved in aviation and security issues.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with Sudanese Defense Minister, Awad Mohamed Ahmed bin Auf, in Cairo on Monday. During the meeting, Sisi stressed that his country is not conspiring against or interfering in the internal affairs of any country, Sudan in particular.

The Egyptian and Russian foreign ministers made comments in Moscow on Monday indicating "progress" on the issue of resuming Russian flights to Egypt, which have been suspended since 2015. The two officials also affirmed the necessity of continuing cooperation between the two countries, including protocols on air navigation security, while the Egyptian foreign minister expressed expectations that Russia would resume air flights and touristic activity to Egypt as soon as possible.

Developments in Egypt s giant gas field Zohr reached 83.5 percent as of August, the county s petroleum ministry said in a Monday emailed statement. Work on developing the field, which was discovered by Italian oil company Eni, aims to link the wells of the first stage to produce the targeted gas on time, the head of Petro Shourouk, which is working on the developments, told the petroleum minister in a meeting.

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.