Good morning, friends, and welcome to a brand new week.

THE BIG STORY HERE AT HOME is President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s visit to Sudan. Talks included how to boost bilateral relations as well as the way forward on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The visit dominates the news cycle this morning and was all over the airwaves last night. We have chapter and verse in the news well, below.

Expect Sudan to stay in the headlines for the next few days, with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok expected to touch down in Egypt this Thursday, 11 March for a two-day visit. GERD will most certainly be on the agenda when Hamdok lands, Ittihadiya spokesperson Bassem Rady told Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa yesterday (watch, runtime: 9:44).

THE BIG STORY INTERNATIONALLY: The US senate passed President Joe Biden's USD 1.9 tn stimulus plan in a party-line vote after an all-night "vote-a-rama" on Saturday, paving the way for Biden's first legislative victory if approved by the House in the coming days, CNN reports. The House aims to reconcile several key changes, pass the bill on Tuesday, and send it back to Biden’s desk for his signature before 14 March — just days before unemployment programs expire for mns of Americans. The story is front-page news everywhere from the New York Times to Bloomberg.

*** CATCH UP QUICK with the biggest stories from Thursday’s EnterprisePM:

• The Health Ministry began rolling out covid-19 vaccines to the wider public.
• Contracts have been awarded for the world’s largest wastewater treatment plant right here in Egypt.
• The commodities supercycle looks like it’s touching metals in Egypt.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

We’re likely going to be talking about Turkey when Greek Foreign minister Nikos Dendias lands tomorrow for a two-day visit. Dendias plans to discuss the demarcation of maritime zones — including a recent push by Ankara to draw up an East Med maritime demarcation agreement with Egypt — as well as developments in Libya and the Eastern Med in general, according to a Greek Foreign Ministry statement. The visit comes days after Shoukry called for “a unified, firm policy” against Turkey’s “destructive practices” in the region.

There’s three days left of the EFG Hermes Virtual Investor Conference. The conference is headlined as “Frontier Emerging Markets Regaining Momentum” and brings together executives from 197 companies and more than 700 investors from 253 global institutions to exchange insights on the current state of frontier and emerging markets. The event runs until Tuesday, 9 March.

Key data points in the coming days and weeks:

• Foreign reserves figures should be out within the next few days.
• Inflation data will drop on Wednesday, 10 March.
• The Central Bank of Egypt will discuss interest rates on Thursday, 18 March.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.