Abdel Fattah el-Sisi

BELGRADE - Serbian President Alekandar Vucic spoke by phone with Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Wednesday to discuss the current challenges faced by Serbia.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi begins his third term this week buoyed by massive fresh financing, but experts say the road out of economic crisis will still be long and arduous.

Sisi won December's presidential election with 89.6 percent of the vote, standing against three unknowns.

The European Union and Egypt on Sunday signed a 7.4-billion-euro financial package to support the indebted north African country, boost energy sales to Europe and stem irregular migrant flows.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed satisfaction with the upgrade of European Union relations with Egypt to a Comprehensive and Strategic Partnership, according to government sources commenting on the meeting, in Cairo, with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, along with five more European leaders, will travel to Cairo Sunday.

The other leaders are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and the Prime Ministers of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, and Italy, Giorgia Meloni.

The European Commission president and the prime ministers of Greece, Italy and Belgium are going to Egypt on Sunday to provide serious economic assistance and a support framework for this difficult time, but they will also try to fortify the Union against the fallout from the region's troubles.

Athens has described forthcoming EU support for Egypt with a generous €7.4 billion package to manage migration as "vital" for the wider region.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey was ready to cooperate with Egypt to rebuild Gaza as he made his first visit to the country since 2012.

Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi held a joint news conference on Wednesday in Cairo after bilateral talks, taking a big step toward rebuilding relations between the regional powers.

Negotiations to pause the Israel-Hamas war and free the remaining hostages headed into a second day in Cairo yesterday, as displaced Gazans braced for an expected Israeli assault on their last refuge of Rafah.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan made his first visit to Egypt since 2012 on Wednesday to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, taking a big step toward rebuilding ties between the regional powers.