El Sisi calls for close Arab-China ties: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi called on the Arab world and China to strengthen ties at a summit in Saudi Arabia attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, according to an Ittihadiya statement. The president said that Arab nations and Beijing will need to work more closely to solve the problems caused by rising food insecurity, which he said was among the most dangerous threats in the world. The China-Arab summit capped a three-day visit to Riyadh by Xi which was hailed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman as “launching a new historical era” of Saudi-China ties.

El Sisi met with: Sudan’s Abdel Fattah Al Burhan | Tunisian President Kais Saied | Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani.

Egypt, Jordan + Iraq to expand cross-border payment services: Bilateral trade could be added later to a joint initiative signed between the central banks of Egypt, Jordan and Iraq on cross-border payments last week, CBE governor Hassan Abdalla told CNBC Arabia in an interview (watch, runtime: 1:59). The three central banks announced a joint initiative to launch a cross-border payment service for pensioners in the Arab world through the Arab Monetary’s Fund Buna system. The first phase of the initiative will allow Iraqi pensioners residing in Egypt or Jordan to receive their monthly salaries easily after opening accounts in any of the banks under the initiative.