Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has a busy week: Following his meeting with Saudi’s Foreign Minister, which almost directly preceded the severing of ties with Qatar, Shoukry also met a Hamas delegation led by its recently-minted head honcho in Gaza, Yehia Sinwar, and Deputy Interior Minister Tawfik Abu Naim in Cairo yesterday for talks with Egyptian officials, Ahram Gate reports. The visit will see the two sides chew over the possibly easing the blockade of Gaza, senior Hamas official Salah Al Bardawil said. This is the first high-level meeting between Egypt and the Palestinian group in several months, during which time Hamas has also been trying to mend ties and “convince Egypt that it is a reliable security partner,” the Associated Press notes.

Shoukry’s Diplomacy Ironman Week began with a meeting with Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour, who told Al Shorouk in an interview that the two countries will coordinate heading into the Nile Summit scheduled for 22 June in Uganda. The summit is expected to look into the issue of Egypt rejoining the Nile Basin Initiative. Ghandour also denied that the statelet of Qatar had played any role in recent tensions between Egypt and Sudan.

Over in South Sudan, rebel leader Riek Machar called President El Sisi a “close brother” to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who Machar’s group accuses of helping arm the South Sudanese government, South Sudan News Agency reports.