Good morning, everyone. We have a packed issue for you this morning, so we’re going to jump right in.

PSA- You’re looking at another nice day in the capital city, with our favorite weather app calling for clear, sunny skies and a high of 23°C.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Sameh Shoukry is in Moscow to discuss Gaza: The foreign minister is due to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, alongside a delegation of Arab and Muslim leaders to push for a ceasefire, according to Russian state news agency Tass. The delegation was in Beijing yesterday for the first stop of a tour of P5 UN Security Council members aimed at building momentum for a permanent end to the violence. More on this in this morning’s War Watch, below.

Where Russia stands: Moscow has repeatedly pushed for a full ceasefire at the UN Security Council, aligning with China and the rest of the Arab world in condemning Israel’s war. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also become increasingly critical of Israel, marking a pivot away from Russia’s typically warm relations with the country.

SIGN OF THE TIMES- The Arab and Islamic world is talking to China and Russia before it talks to the West, making an end run around Washington. Refusing to back down from their full-throated support for Israel’s war, the US and its European allies are finding themselves increasingly diplomatically isolated as much of the world demands an end to the war.

#2- Iran has called an emergency Brics meeting: Leaders from Egypt, South Africa, China, Brazil, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Argentia, the UAE, and Iran — along with UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres — are attending a Brics video summit today in an effort to de-escalate the crisis in Gaza, the South African presidency said yesterday. Iranian state media said the gathering was called by President Ebrahim Raisi.Ittihadiya is yet to confirm who will be representing us at the meeting.

Remember: Iran, together with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others will become members of the Brics on 1 January 2024.

ALSO TODAY-

#3- MPs to press PM on Israel’s threats to expel Palestinians into Egypt: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly will face questions from MPs today about the measures being taken by the government to prevent Israel from forcibly displacing Gazans into Sinai.

Senior Israeli officials have openly called for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza in response to the Hamas terror attack on 7 October, and have tried to lobby Western governments to support a plan to push its inhabitants into the Sinai. An Intelligence Ministry report recently leaked in the Israeli press recommended that the government forcibly transfer the population over the border into Egypt, though Netanyahu downplayed it as a “concept paper.”

A red line: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has repeatedly denounced the proposal and Madbouly threatened a military response if Israel tries to follow through.

#4- Payment and fintech conference Pafix continues today as part of Cairo ICT 2023at the Egypt International Exhibition Centre in New Cairo. The conference wraps up tomorrow.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Sam Altman is out at OpenAI. But is he returning as CEO to the company he founded? Or taking as many as 700 OpenAI staff and decamping for Microsoft? Not even Microsoft boss Satya Nadella seems to know. Sh*t show at the f*ck factory, indeed.

Here are the big beats — and big, lingering questions — in the drama that the global business press has dubbed the single largest business story of 2023. (Bloomberg | Financial Times | WSJ)

1- OpenAI’s board fired Altman over the weekend in what Silicon Valley insiders are calling a “coup” led by the company’s chief scientist.

2- The chief scientist is now threatening to leave with Altman, saying he regrets his actions. (Sure, Fredo.)

3- OpenAI’s board (all of them external folks, none of them shareholders) has missed two deadlines to bring back Altman and then resign themselves. They’ve been under pressure from major shareholders including Microsoft and venture capital outfit Thrive. Instead, they’ve fired the interim CEO they appointed a few days ago (she’s backing Altman) and hired the guy who used to run Twitch.

4- Nadella announced in a stone-coldtweetpost on Elon Musk’s dumpster fire of a social network that Altman is joining Microsoft.

And as of right now: More than 700 OpenAI staff have threatened to walk, Nadella doesn’tseem to know whether he employs Altman or not, and it seems Altman is still making a play to return to OpenAI.

PSA- Maybe you don’t want to pay for ChatGPT Plus, after all? Microsoft’s Copilot (until recently named Bing) is powered by a fairly recent build of ChatGPT and Google’s Bard has exploded out of the gates in recent weeks, now giving users the ability to link Bard to their email as well as to Google’s Docs, Sheets and Slides products, among others.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- MERIS may be getting some competition: Tomorrow is the last chance to apply for a credit rating license from the FRA after it loosened requirements last year.

#2- Get ready for a whole lot of Egypt-bound Gulf investments: The EGY-GCC BusinessForum is kicking off tomorrow and will wrap on Thursday.

#3- Education, Education, Education: The Worldview Education Fair is kicking off Friday with representatives for 20 universities and business schools looking for bright and eager students to enroll.

THE REALIGNMENT-

KSA and China ink currency swap: The People’s Bank of China and the Saudi Central Bank signed a three-year local currency swap agreement worth a maximum of CNY 50 bn or SAR 26 bn (USD 6.9 bn), according to a statement from the Saudi Central Bank. The agreement follows warming ties between the countries in the last two years and a shared goal to reduce their exposure to the USD.

And we might be doing a currency swap with KSA: Egypt and Saudi Arabia are studying the possibility of conducting local currency-denominated trade in the coming period, Asharq Business reported, citing remarks by Egyptian Commercial Representation Service head Yahya Al Wathiq Billah. The Saudi commerce minister has already submitted a proposal to discuss the possibility of paying a portion of trade operations in local currencies and the proposal will be discussed between the central banks of the two countries before a consensus is reached by 2024, Al Wathiq Billah was quoted as saying.

ICYMI- Local currency trade with India may also be in the works following discussions between Finance Minister Mohamed Maait and the Indian ambassador, the Finance Ministry said last week.

HELP GAZA-

Want to support relief efforts in Gaza, but don’t know how? We’ve got you. More than 1 mn people in Gaza have been thrown from their homes and every human being there lacks access to food, water, and fuel amid the most intense bombardment any population has endured this century.

The folks at Talabat are processing donations for a range of Gaza relief appeals by charities including the Egyptian Food Bank and Misr El Kheir. Pay in EGP using your credit card.

Or check out our list of charities to which you can make direct donations via bank deposit and / or Fawry.

WAR ECONOMICS-

#1- Gas industry in the region is “more exposed” than oil to the Gaza crisis: The region’s gas industry faces “greater and more immediate risks” than the oil sector, according to a report by S&P Global Ratings last week. The report warned that if the conflict spreads outside of Israel and Palestine, pipelines could be targeted and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz could run into difficulties, leading to a complete collapse in Israeli gas imports.

#2- Houthi’s seizure of vessel could jeopardize key Red Sea shipping route: The seizure of a vessel in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels has raised fears of disruptions in a key shipping route, Reuters reports. Two ships have already diverted their course as a result and despite initial market resilience, there's a risk that more shipping companies may avoid the region, causing potential delays and increased costs in global supply chains, the newswire reports.

*** It’s Going Green day — your weekly briefing of all things green in Egypt: Enterprise’s green economy vertical focuses each Tuesday on the business of renewable energy and sustainable practices in Egypt, everything from solar and wind energy through to water, waste management, sustainable building practices and how you can make your business greener, whatever the sector.

In today’s issue: We took stock of our flagship Nexus of Water, Food and Energy climate finance initiative one year on after its launch

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