President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is in Saudi Arabia today to meet with King Salman and tie a bow around the revitalized relationship between Cairo and Riyadh. The two are expected to discuss a basket of bilateral issues, with the fight against terror figuring heavily, the local press reports. The last time the two heads of state exchanged visits was in April last year, when Salman pledged bns in aid, investment and grants while in Egypt. Salman invited El Sisi to KSA in late March when the two leaders mended fences.

The Egyptian-Saudi Business Council sees the visit as an opportunity to move forward with over USD 25 bn in MoUs and other agreements signed last year, the group said in a statement picked up by AMAY. These include the development of the King Salman bridge, a pact with ACWA Power, and investment in the Suez Canal and real estate projects in the North Coast, Sharm, and Hurghada. The statement added that Saudi Arabia’s budget cuts would not impact investments in Egypt. The council plans a follow-up meeting in early May.

El Sisi is expected back in Egypt in time for a 25-27 April youth conference in Ismailia. Organizers have set up a website through which questions can be submitted to the president during his Q&A.

Food Export council looks to double sales to Africa to USD 260 mn this year: Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil and Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy inaugurated the Food Africa expo in Cairo yesterday. About 500 companies are participating in the gathering, which wraps tomorrow, Al Shorouk reports. The Food Export Council says Egypt’s food exports to the continent hit about USD 130 mn in 2016, Al Mal reports, a figure the council is looking to double this year, council chief Hani Berzi said. Berzi was also quoted by Al Mal as saying that consumers should not expect much in the way of further price hikes this year. The Edita CEO also said his company has no plans to increase investment in Egypt this year, but is exploring export markets.

Pope Tawadros II is set to travel to Kuwait today through Wednesday, the first visit of a Coptic Orthodox Patriarch, Al Shorouk reports. The pope will conduct a dedication mass for St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Kuwait on Tuesday.

CIB has dropped spending limits on international use of its credit cards, the bank said this weekend in an SMS to cardholders.

Has FaceTime been acting up for you lately? Voice over IP applications including Skype, Facebook Messenger, Viber and FaceTime have been working sporadically over the past few days, stirring rumors that access could be blocked to Egyptian users. The National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority put out a tweet denying that VOIP services had been shut down, with sources telling Al Mal that the likely culprit was Telecom Egypt, an explanation we are inclined to believe.

An Islamist terror attack in Paris in the final hours of the France’s presidential election threatened to strengthen far-right contender Marine Le Pen’s hand as French voters go to the polls today. A lone gunman killed a French police officer and injured two others in the Thursday evening attack. French voters are heading to the polls today ahead of a Sunday, 7 May runoff. As Reuters puts it: “Voters will decide, under tight security, whether to back a pro-EU centrist newcomer, a scandal-ridden veteran conservative who wants to slash public spending, a far-left eurosceptic admirer of Fidel Castro or appoint France’s first woman president, to shut borders and ditch the euro.” Emmanuel Macron — the “pro-EU centrist newcomer” — is still widely expected to edge out Le Pen in the two-person runoff. Reuters also has an excellent interactive explainer here that looks at the candidates, polls, predictions and likely results.