CAIRO: European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen was in Cairo on Saturday to kick off a two-day investment conference, where deals potentially worth over $42 billion are expected to be signed.
“At this conference, European companies are signing over 20 new deals ... which are worth over 40 billions euros,” von der Leyen said at the meeting in the Egyptian capital.
The conference comes after a 7.4 billion-euro ($7.9 billion) EU funding package was signed in March to support the indebted North African country.
The strategic partnership deal provides the financial support in exchange for boosting energy sales to Europe and stemming migration.
“Today, we sign the first one billion euros in macrofinancial assistance,” the EU chief said, referring to the initial tranche of the funding package.
Macrofinancial aid, a series of medium and long term loans, “constitutes the large majority of the 7.4 billion euros in EU financial support under the partnership,” von der Leyen said.
Another 1.8 billion euros in European investments are hoped for as part of the deal, she added.
Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous nation, is in dire need of financial help as it weathers a severe economic crisis marked by rapid inflation.
In his opening remarks, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said the conference aimed to “enable European companies to benefit from investment opportunities in Egypt.”
The event’s agenda would focus on “employment, economic growth, green and renewable energies,” he said.
Through March’s aid deal, Egypt is betting on its natural gas reserves to gain access to foreign currency, while the EU has sought alternatives to Russian gas since the war in Ukraine.
The EU chief said “Egypt has the ambitious goal of becoming a clean energy hub and this is in Europe’s interest too.”
Human rights groups have criticized the migration conditions of the EU-Egypt partnership, which follows several controversial deals with Libya, Tunisia and Mauritania to stem the flow of irregular migrants across the Mediterranean Sea.
US-based Human Rights Watch labelled the agreement part of “the EU’s cash-for-migration-control approach,” saying it “strengthens authoritarian rulers while betraying human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers and activists whose work involves great personal risk.”
Amnesty International on Wednesday said the EU deal “must depend on human rights reforms.”
Egypt’s stability and prosperity are “essential for an entire region,” added von der Leyen, as war embroils neighboring Gaza and Sudan.
EU chief in Egypt for joint investment conference
https://arab.news/y3de6
EU chief in Egypt for joint investment conference
- The conference comes after a 7.4 billion-euro ($7.9 billion) EU funding package was signed in March to support Egypt
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants to Iraq
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension.
“Our forces affirm their commitment to the agreement and their dedication to respecting it, which contributes to de-escalation, the protection of civilians, and the creation of the necessary conditions for stability,” the group said in a statement.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdish-led force called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
The end of the truce came as government forces have been sending reinforcements to Syria’s northeast.
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group who are held in northeastern Syria. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq.
On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
