Blinken: Egypt and US are fully committed to deepening bilateral relations

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at Al-Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 30, 2023. (Reuters)
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Updated 30 January 2023

Blinken: Egypt and US are fully committed to deepening bilateral relations

  • US, Egyptian officials discussed issues related to Israel and Palestine, Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Libya and Sudan
  • Antony Blinken: Sixty percent of the population in Egypt is, of course, 25 years old or younger. So, this is an incredibly dynamic and youthful place

CAIRO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed efforts to de-escalate tensions between Israel and Palestine in talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Monday at Al-Ittihadiya Palace.

The two exchanged views on a number of international and regional issues of common interest, including the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and the joint efforts to contain recent escalating tensions.

The talks took place on the second day of Blinken’s visit to Cairo, part of a larger Middle East tour the US secretary of state is currently undertaking.

A spokesman for the Egyptian president stated that El-Sisi stressed the importance of the strategic partnership between Egypt and the US and expressed hopes to enhance coordination on various political and security matters.

Blinken emphasized that Washington is counting on close coordination with Egypt to restore stability between Palestine and Israel.

President El-Sisi likewise highlighted the importance of working to de-escalate tensions in the region and limit any unilateral measures taken by either party. 

He affirmed Egypt’s desire to reach a just and comprehensive solution that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people in accordance with international frameworks and in a way that achieves lasting peace and stability.

During the meeting, the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam was also discussed. 

El-Sisi stressed the need to reach a binding legal agreement to fill and operate the dam in a way that achieves common interests and preserves the water rights of all parties, highlighting the importance of the US in playing an effective role in resolving this crisis.

Blinken wrote on his Twitter account: “Important meeting with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the US-Egypt strategic partnership.

“We discussed Egypt’s important role in regional stability, bilateral cooperation, and the importance of progress on human rights,” he added.

Blinken also held talks on Monday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Cairo. The two discussed issues related to Palestine, the GERD, Libya and Sudan.

The secretary of state said that the US supports Sudan’s transition to democracy and that the future of the country is dependent on the existence of a government that considers the interests of all segments of the population. Concerning Libya, he stressed the importance of holding elections this year, emphasizing the right of the Libyan people to choose their leadership.

Regarding the GERD, Blinken said: “We have heard from the Egyptian leadership that it is an existential matter for Egypt, and we support any solution that takes into account the interests of all parties.”

As for current tensions between Israel and Palestine, Blinken acknowledged that the present time is characterized by difficulty in light of the recent escalation of violence and said that he wants to hear from all sides during his visit to the West Bank and Israel. 

During a joint press conference with the US secretary of state, Shoukry said the talks that were held “clearly reflected the broad convergence of strategic interests between the two countries and the great consistency in visions on many issues, and also showed the enormous potential for developing strategic partnership in many fields.”

Shoukry praised the friendly relations between Egypt and the US and expressed Egypt’s desire to strengthen the relationship on the basis of mutual respect and shared interests. 

Blinken said that Egypt and the US are fully committed to developing and deepening bilateral relations.

He added: “We have supported a contract worth $600 million to build an underwater communications cable to deliver approved fast communications, and we are also helping Egypt invest in the field of wind and solar energy, and we are trying to move forward in joint economic cooperation in order to build on these relations.”

Blinken affirmed that relations between the two peoples are one of the pillars of the partnership between the US and Egypt.

His remarks came during a meeting with students at the American University in Cairo in Tahrir Square.

Speaking at the campus, Blinken said: “It’s really wonderful to be here in this truly historic institution that has brought Egyptians and Americans together for so many years.”

Blinken acknowledged the importance of the youth in advancing both countries’ common goals and achieving economic empowerment and climate action.

The secretary of state said that he chose Egypt as the start of his tour in the Middle East because of the strategic partnership between the US and Egypt.

He said: “As we’re looking at the partnership between the US and Egypt, the strategic partnership that is of great consequence to the US, we know that going forward (this) partnership ultimately is going to be built and sustained and strengthened by the people here today and the people that you represent. 

“Sixty percent of the population in Egypt is, of course, 25 years old or younger. So, this is an incredibly dynamic and youthful place.  

“It’s important for us not just to engage government to government, as important as that is, but to engage with every sector of society, and again, especially the rising generation of Egyptians because, quite literally, you will be the ones making this country and you will be the ones who are carrying forward the relationship with the US.”

Blinken added: “We want to know what’s on your minds, what you’re thinking about, what you’re concerned about, and how you’re looking at things because, for me, the most important thing is this: Just because we’ve done something one way for the last 50 years doesn’t mean we need to do it the same way for the next 50 years.”

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‘Starving’ retired army personnel protest against Lebanon’s ‘corrupt’ political elite

Updated 22 March 2023

‘Starving’ retired army personnel protest against Lebanon’s ‘corrupt’ political elite

  • ‘Retired soldiers are now paid peanuts amid the sharp increase in the dollar exchange rate and the dollarization of food prices’
  • ‘We need international protection to save us from corrupt politicians. We are no longer able to secure our food’

BEIRUT: Retired military personnel took to the streets of downtown Beirut on Wednesday to protest against the increasing financial hardships they said they are facing as a result of Lebanon’s economic crisis and rampant corruption.

Their angry demonstration followed the latest sharp decline in the value of the Lebanese pound on Tuesday, which prompted calls on social media for civil disobedience and public protests. Many of the protesters carried Lebanese flags and placards denouncing the government and its financial policies.

“Where is the conscience of the ruling powers?” said one of the demonstrators Arab News spoke to.

“Don’t they feel guilty about the retired members of the military who have served their country all their lives, given that they are currently starving and not able to access medical care services? Hospitals are holding their bodies in morgue freezers because their families cannot afford the hospital bills.”

Another retired military man told Arab News: “Retired soldiers are now paid peanuts amid the sharp increase in the dollar exchange rate and the dollarization of food prices.

“We need international protection to save us from corrupt politicians. We are no longer able to secure our food. We do not follow any political party or militia. We only belong to our homeland. They are criminals, endangering their country. Let it be known that the people will have no mercy on the tyrants.”

The drastic collapse of the exchange rate of the Lebanese pound against the dollar means that the value of monthly salaries paid to retired military personnel, and public-sector workers, has fallen to between $20 and $60.

“We came to discover whether there is still any state and to claim our salaries and rights to medical care with dignity,” retired Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz told Arab News: “The state has a duty toward us. Taking to the streets was our only solution.”

The protesters refused to meet any representatives of the Forces of Change, new members of parliament who were elected last year with the promise of representing the popular mood of opposition to the political status quo, because “they did nothing to benefit the people.” They said that MP Paula Yacoubian and the activist Wassef Al-Harakeh had been expelled from the demonstration.

The protesters breached barbed wire fences surrounding the Grand Serail, the headquarters of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and declared their intent to break in. In response, security and riot control officers used tear gas to disperse the crowd. The majority of the protesters were elderly and a number were treated by the Red Cross for suffocation.

“Wouldn’t it be better if they had given hungry soldiers money instead of spending it on bombs?” said one injured demonstrator.

Later, the protesters met Mikati and warned of “an unprecedented escalation if promises to fulfill the demands are not met, notably paying the public sector and retirees’ salaries based on the Sayrafa platform’s exchange rate, which is 25,000 pounds against the dollar, instead of the current rate of 90,000 pounds.”

In a separate incident, in the Jnah neighborhood in the southern suburbs of Beirut, fishermen blocked a road in protest against their deteriorating financial situation.

Elsewhere, members of an association that represents public administration employees protested in front of the Finance Ministry, demanding that the government “give public sector employees their rights by revising their salaries and transportation allowance, and securing their healthcare and education grants.”

Similar protests took place in Sidon, Tyre and Nabatieh.

An International Monetary Fund delegation, headed by Ernesto Rigo Ramirez, on Wednesday met the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Walid bin Abdullah Bukhari. Embassy sources said that they discussed “the (overall) developments and conditions needed for Lebanon to recover from the political and economic crisis, in addition to issues of common concern.”

Meanwhile, in an address to the nation at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Deryan warned of “the emerging chaos whose price will be paid by citizens.” It is necessary to “resort to the constitution immediately, elect a president and stop wasting time,” he said.

“We cannot wait any longer; people have started to lose the basic necessities of life, and the political class and citizens live in two different worlds,” he added.


Benjamin Netanyahu: Israel will not revive settlements evacuated in 2005

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JERUSALEM: Israel has “no intention” of reviving West Bank settlements evacuated nearly two decades ago, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday, after a parliamentary vote sparked US ire.
Lawmakers voted Tuesday to annul part of a law banning Israelis from living in areas of the occupied West Bank the government evacuated in 2005.
That year Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip and removed Jewish settlers from the coastal territory, as well as from four settlements in the northern West Bank.
Netanyahu’s office said the parliamentary vote scraps “a discriminatory and humiliating law, that prohibited Jews from living in areas in northern Samaria, which is part of our historic homeland,” using the biblical name for the northern West Bank.
“Having said that, the government has no intention of establishing new communities in these areas,” the statement added.
Netanyahu returned to power in December and vowed to expand settlements across the West Bank, which are deemed illegal under international law.
His assertion that the government will not formally allow settlers to return to the four sites evacuated in 2005 comes after Washington said it was “extremely troubled” by the parliamentary vote.
“The legislative changes announced today are particularly provocative,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters Tuesday.
Patel said the move was in “clear contradiction” of promises made by prime minister Ariel Sharon to US president George W. Bush, as well as assurances given just two days ago by the Netanyahu administration.
The decision by lawmakers was heralded by Israel’s settler movement which has made one of the sites — Homesh — a symbol of their cause.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, himself a far-right settler, tweeted that it marked a step toward regularizing the Israeli presence at Homesh.
A small group of activists returned to the site in 2009 and set up a Jewish seminary, which was cleared repeatedly by Israeli troops before the military eventually allowed them to stay.

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  • Boosts the chances of the opposition alliance’s joint candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu

ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s main pro-Kurdish party said Wednesday it would not field a presidential candidate in May elections, giving tacit support to Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rival in the crucial vote.
The decision by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) reduces the possibility of a damaging split of the anti-Erdogan vote, boosting the chances of the opposition alliance’s joint candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Winning more than 10 percent of the vote in the past three national elections, the HDP was widely seen as a kingmaker in the tightly contested race.
“We will not field a candidate in the presidential elections,” Pervin Buldan, the party co-chairwoman, told reporters.
“We will fulfil our historic responsibility to end one-man rule in the coming elections,” she said, condemning Erdogan’s consolidation of power over his two decades as prime minister and president.
The HDP’s decision strips Erdogan of a key voting bloc in what is widely seen as Turkiye’s most important election of its post-Ottoman history.
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