Newsletter: FutureVerse LEAP’s comeback The fifth edition of the gathering offers a temperature check for the Gulf’s AI ambitions amid fallout from the US-Israel-Iran war. By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Xi makes first Egypt visit in decade as Cairo gets caught in US-China AI row China's Huawei last month submitted a bid to build advanced AI data centers and supply more than 2,000 AI chips for Egyptian government systems. Egypt
Analysis How Ethiopia’s new dams test Egypt’s ability to defend its Nile red lines Ethiopia’s water minister has emphasized the country’s plans to move forward with new Blue Nile dam construction, leaving Egypt to contend with the potential fallout. By Eli Siegel-Bernstein
Newsletter: Business & Tech Iran keeps Hormuz reopening on hold Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remained low, with only five commodity vessels transiting the waterway on Tuesday, according to data from maritime tracking firm Kpler. By Jack Dutton In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech
EU releases another $1.06B to Egypt to boost fragile economy The European Union's latest package of support for the North African country's economic recovery follows an $8 billion deal announced March 17. Egypt
Al-Monitor/Premise poll finds Biden's unpopularity in Mideast makes room for China, Russia to outshine US Washington’s influence remains potent despite its perceived disengagement from the Middle East, but Russia and China are eagerly finding gaps to fill. Egypt
Interview Incoming legislation to make 'big difference' for Egypt's fintechs, MNT-Halan CEO says Mounir Nakhla told Al-Monitor that although financial inclusion has increased in Egypt over the past few years, much of the country's population is still unbanked. Mounir Nakhla CEO of MNT-Halan
Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt rank least happy countries in Middle East The Middle East and North Africa are the two regions where “happiness has fallen at every age.” Lebanon
Gaza war tests East Med gas integration and national energy security Gerald Kepes In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy trends
Analysis Beyond migration, what does EU's $8bn package mean for Egypt? The 27-member bloc's 7.4 billion euros in funding in the North African country will be disbursed over the next three years and cover economic and trade relations, energy and immigration. By Jack Dutton In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech
EU readies $8B aid package for Egypt to help economy, stem immigration European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to travel to Cairo Sunday with the Belgian, Italian and Greek prime ministers to complete and announce the aid agreement for Egypt. Egypt
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt among world's top arms importers: SIPRI Concerns about Iran drove Gulf states’ weapons imports, while imports by Morocco and Algeria fell in the past four years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Saudi Arabia
Will UAE's $35B investment help Egypt recover from financial crisis? The Gulf state has stepped in with a major deal that could throw an economic lifeline to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government. Egypt
Egypt’s pound falls 60% amid currency float, $5B IMF deal Egypt announced that it had expanded a previously $3 billion loan program with the International Monetary Fund after the decision to float the currency was made public. Egypt
New Egyptian company to raise expat funds gets $100m seed investment The project is designed to bring in much-needed foreign currency into the North African country, which is going through its worst economic crisis in more than half a century. Egypt