Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday evening Serbia would soon sign a FTA with Egypt and announced that he would meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a month or a month and a half and that he also expected to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in about a month.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Thursday for a peace conference on the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas as he addressed Arab leaders and diplomats at a forum in Beijing.

China is this week hosting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and several other Arab leaders for a forum at which discussions on the war in Gaza were expected.

President Xi Jinping welcomed Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to Beijing on Wednesday, as the Chinese capital hosts a number of Arab dignitaries for a forum it hopes will deepen ties with the region.

Several Arab leaders are this week visiting Beijing, which is seeking to present a "common voice" on the conflict between Israel and Hamas and improve cooperation.

Efforts persist to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with the latter considering a proposed 40-day truce from Israel. The proposal entails the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for the ceasefire, prompting Hamas to deliberate over its response. US President Joe Biden has engaged in discussions with leaders from Qatar and Egypt to facilitate peace talks.

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.

Prospects for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire dimmed Sunday after the United States signalled it would veto the latest push for a U.N. Security Council resolution and mediator Qatar acknowledged that truce talks on the other diplomatic front have hit an impasse.

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.