No decision yet on MIR: Egypt and Russia have completed much of the technical work to introduce Moscow’s MIR payments system in Egypt but no final decisions have been made, Russia’s ambassador to Egypt Georgy Borisenko told Russia's RIA Novosti. Russian authorities have been working with the Central Bank of Egypt to set up Mir — Russia’s alternative to MasterCard and Visa since — last year following the introduction of Western financial sanctions on Moscow in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.

The two countries are in talks to increase EGP-RUB trade: Egypt and Russia have been discussing the idea of increasing the use of national currencies in bilateral trade, cutting out the use of the greenback, Borisenko told the news agency. Russia’s central bank last month approved the EGP for use as a trade currency, allowing Egypt to purchase Russian commodities in RUB and reduce its exposure to the greenback.

Don’t expect the US to take any of this lightly: The US has come down hard on Turkey for expanding the use of Mir. Five local banks that had adopted the payment system quickly reversed course following pressure from Washington which threatened to impose sanctions.

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El Sisi talks GREGY with Greek PM + lead contractor: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed by phone the progress of the 3-GW Greece-Egypt Interconnector (GREGY) project as well as the need to send immediate support following last week’s devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the Greek presidency said Friday. El Sisi also met with the head of the lead contractor on the project, Copelouzos Group, Ittihadiya said.

REMEMBER- The consortium working on the project is close to finalizing the technical and financial surveys ahead of a financial investment decision, a senior figure at Copelouzos said last week. Work on the EUR 3.5 bn has accelerated last year as the EU steps up its search for new energy supplies following an energy crunch on the back of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.