Iraq's foreign minister on Thursday called for more economic cooperation with Saudi Arabia, namely in investment and electricity, during a visit to Baghdad by his Saudi counterpart.

Fuad Hussein made no mention of resuming talks between Saudi Arabia and arch-rival Iran -- previously mediated by Iraq -- during a joint press conference.

French presidential envoy Pierre Duquesne met Thursday at the Grand Serail with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Duquesne is in a two-day visit to Lebanon in a French mission aimed at supporting the energy sector in Lebanon.

A patrol from the judicial police on Wednesday raided money changers in the markets of the city of Baalbek and arrested two individuals who were practicing illegal money exchange operations, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The development comes a few days after State Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oueidat sent a memo to Financial Prosecutor Judge Ali Ibrahim asking him to “immediately” order the arrest of the money changers and speculators who are contributing to “the collapse of the national currency.”

Lebanon shifted Wednesday its long-standing official exchange rate to 15,000 pounds against the dollar, a central bank source said -- an almost 90 percent devaluation amid a years-long economic crisis.

The Lebanese pound has been officially pegged at 1,507 to the greenback since 1997, but its market value began to slide in late 2019 and hit record lows of more than 60,000 this month.

Iran and Russia have taken a key step toward linking their banking systems in a move that further boosts their cooperation in the face of Western sanctions, an Iranian official said.

At a signing ceremony on Sunday, Mohsen Karami, the deputy central bank governor, said banks in the two countries had connected their messaging networks following agreements reached over the past year, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

The outlook for the global economy is growing slightly brighter as China eases its zero-COVID policies and the world shows surprising resilience in the face of high inflation, elevated interest rates and Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.

That's the view of the International Monetary Fund, which now expects the world economy to grow 2.9% this year. That forecast is better than the 2.7% expansion for 2023 that the IMF predicted in October, though down from the estimated 3.4% growth in 2022.

Kuwait's caretaker cabinet submitted a draft 2023-2024 budget on Tuesday projecting a growing deficit with bigger state spending and lower oil revenues.

The Egyptian pound has dipped to a new low of just over 30 for $1, as the cash-strapped North African country continues to battle surging inflation and foreign currency shortages, authorities said.

The landmark slide in Egypt's Central Bank selling rate is the latest in a series of tumbles following the country's $3 billion International Monetary Fund bail-out package ratified in mid-December. The IMF deal was agreed upon in exchange for Egypt implementing a number of economic reforms, including a shift to a flexible exchange rate. The deal allows for a further $14 billion in possible financing for Egypt.

Trying to sell France to Emirati investors, France's finance minister has highlighted what he described as the business-friendly overhaul of President Emmanuel Macron — while sidestepping ongoing protests back home over a planned pension overhaul.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire's trip to Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates' capital, comes as over 1 million people marched days earlier to protest a plan by Macron's government to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Europe's economy scraped out meager gains at the end of last year as galloping inflation fed by high energy prices and Russia's invasion of Ukraine deterred people from spending in shops and restaurants.

Economic output crept 0.1% higher in the last three months of 2022, European Union statistics agency Eurostat reported Tuesday, avoiding an outright downturn as warmer-than-usual winter weather shelved fears of energy rationing in Europe.