Egypt | News & Updates

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Egypt: Life Sentences for 53 Defendants in ‘Nahda Events’
06 May, 2019

A protester reacts during demonstrations in Cairo January 29, 2011. (File photo: Reuters)

Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat

An Egyptian court on Sunday handed life sentences to 53 people for participating in the “Muslim Brotherhood” gathering at al-Nahda Square in Giza in 2013.

Two others were given a one-year prison sentence, while 10 were acquitted of the charges during a retrial.

The total number of defendants in the case is 379, including 189 detainees.

The court also ordered the accused to pay EGP 2 million to Orman Park, EGP 10 million for Giza province, and EGP 25 million to the Engineering Faculty at Cairo University for damages.

The prosecution accused the defendants of organizing a gathering in Nahda Square, putting the lives of citizens at stake, resisting police forces responsible for dispersing the rally, premeditated murder and carrying unlicensed weapons and ammunition.

Last month, the Court of Cassation rejected 66 appeals in the same case, upholding the verdicts.

The court also acquitted 115 defendants and terminated the criminal prosecution of two defendants after they died. All defendants were fined EGP39 million for the damages they caused at the zoo, al-Orman, Giza Governorate, and Engineering Faculty at Cairo University.

On August 14, 2013, the Egyptian security services broke up two protests- the Rabaa sit-in in Cairo, and the Nahda protest in neighboring Giza - following the toppling of the regime of former president Mohamed Morsi, who is considered a terrorist by the authorities.

In addition, the Criminal Court of Cairo decided to adjourn Morsi’s retrial, along with a number of Muslim Brotherhood leaders and top officials in the lawsuit known as the "illegal crossing of eastern borders."

The trial was postponed to Saturday after a number of detained defendants failed to appear in court.

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Sisi Warns of Impact of Demonstrations on Egypt’s ‘Stability’
Monday, 6 May, 2019

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Reuters file photo

Cairo - Mohamed Nabil Helmy

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has warned of the impact of protests on the country’s “stability” and development plans.

“Just like the change they made in January 25, 2011 and June 30, 2013, Egyptians can make a change for a third and a fourth time," he said.

Sisi's made the remarks during the inauguration of 12 mega-projects in Ismailia and Central Sinai on Sunday, most notably the new tunnels down the Suez canal to facilitate movement to the Sinai Peninsula.

“Since 2011, we have lost billions of dollars,” he explained while expressing gratitude to several Arab countries who have rushed to Egypt’s help.

“Now, we must rely on ourselves, and this will only be achieved through stability and calm.”

Sisi ruled out that protests “can build Egypt,” stressing that such move is also made through "hard work, dedication and stability."

The government has earlier announced that the inaugurated projects, some of which will be completed by June 30, 2020, have cost the government 800 billion pounds.

Egypt counts on developing the Canal governorates (Port Said, Ismailia, Suez) and north and south Sinai governorates to create an integrated economic zone that will help turn North Sinai, which has been in turmoil for years as a result of terrorist attacks, into an attracting investment hub.

The projects to develop the restive Sinai peninsula are estimated to cost 275 billion pounds, Sisi said in February 2018.

They are being implemented by Egyptian companies, he said, adding that the army’s role is supervisory to guarantee the execution of the mega projects on time.

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Outrage over Qatari Statement Describing Egyptians as ‘Enemies’
06 May, 2019

People walk in Mall of Qatar in Doha, Qatar. Reuters file photo

Cairo - Abdel Fattah Faraj

Secretary General of Qatar National Tourism Council Akbar al-Baker’s comments on granting tourist visas to Egyptians have sparked outrage and widespread criticism in Egypt.

Egyptian political analysts and MPs demanded on Sunday an official apology from the Qatari government.

MP Mustafa Bakri denounced Baker's comments, in which he described Egypt as an “enemy state.”

“We disagree with the Qatari regime, but we don’t disagree with its brotherly people,” Bakri said on his official Twitter account.

“However, when the Secretary General of Qatar’s National Tourism Council describes Egyptians as enemies, this reveals the size of this regime’s hostility to all that is Arab.”

“They have supported terrorism to kill civilians and spread chaos in the region,” Bakri stressed.

Foreign workers make up 1.6 million of Qatar's 2.5 million population. Egyptians in Qatar are estimated at 350,000, making up the largest Arab minority in the Gulf country.

Since June 5, 2017, seven Arab countries have cut ties with Qatar - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen, Mauritania and the Comoros, accusing it of “supporting terrorism.”

“The Qatari official’s statement reflects an internal sense of hostility against Egypt,” MP Amr Sidqi, the head of the parliamentary Foreign Relations and Aviation Committee, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He demanded an apology from the Qatari government “for the (shameful) statement against the Egyptian people.”

Mohammed Farouq, an official in the tourism industry, said the number of Egyptian tourists visiting Qatar annually amounts to “zero.”

He pointed out that Egyptians don’t make requests to visit Qatar, which in turn, has stopped issuing tourist visas for Egyptian nationals.

Qatar can’t be classified as a tourist country, Farouq noted, adding that it can’t even be compared to Egypt, UAE or Morocco.

Outrage over Qatari Statement Describing Egyptians as ‘Enemies’

Secretary General of Qatar National Tourism Council Akbar al-Baker’s comments on granting tourist visas to Egyptians have sparked outrage and widespread criticism in Egypt. Egyptian political analysts and MPs demanded on Sunday an official apology from the Qatari government. MP Mustafa Bakri...

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EU to Maintain Cooperation with Egypt on Various Levels
07 May, 2019

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. (Reuters)

Cairo - Walid Abdul Rahman

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi met in Cairo on Monday with European Union (EU) Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica to discuss boosting cooperation between Europe and Egypt, presidential spokesperson Bassam Radi said.

The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and a number of other officials.

“The president welcomed the visit of the European Commissioner to Cairo, which reflects the depth of the distinguished relations between Egypt and European countries and the importance of enhancing cooperation and mutual dialogue in light of the common interests and challenges,” Radi said.

He added that Sisi expressed his country’s readiness, given its current presidency of the African Union, to cooperate with the Commission of the EU via initiatives that aim at serving the development goals of the African continent in line with Agenda 2063.

Underlining the need to benefit from Egyptian expertise and European funding mechanisms to attain these development goals, the president called for implementing more infrastructure projects in African countries to help promote investments and create job opportunities in the continent.

Mimica, for his part, expressed the EU’s appreciation for the strong and historic relations with Egypt, stressing Europe’s reliance on the country’s stability as a crucial element in achieving balance and maintaining peace and security in the southern Mediterranean region.

He also emphasized the EU’s keenness to promote cooperation with Cairo at various levels and to confront the challenges in the Mediterranean.

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Egypt: Death Penalty For 13 on Terror Charges
07 May, 2019
Asharq Al-Awsat

Egypt's highest appeals court has upheld death sentences for 13 people convicted of terror charges.

The charges came over attacks in Cairo in which explosive devices left at least two police officers dead.

The Court of Cassation Tuesday upheld life sentences for 17 others and lesser sentences for another nine, all on similar charges, the Associated Press reported.

The defendants were accused of attempting to kill policemen and civilians in December 2014.

The initial sentences were handed down in 2017, with five others acquitted.

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Qatar disowns tourism official’s comments on visas for ‘enemies’

Updated 07 May 2019
Reuters
May 05, 2019

• Doha has distanced itself from comments made by Qatar tourism chief Akbar Al-Baker
• Al-Baker caused outrage previously for claiming women could not do his job as CEO of Qatar Airways

DOHA: A Qatari tourism official said the country would not grant visas to those it considers “enemies” in reference to Egyptian nationals seeking to enter the country amid an ongoing dispute, a remark that was later disowned by the Qatari government.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Doha denies the allegation.

While citizens from the three Gulf states were recalled to their home countries due to the rift, Egyptians, who make up the largest Arab minority in Qatar, have remained and comprise a sizable portion of the tiny but wealthy country’s workforce.

Speaking at an event to promote a summer tourism campaign, the tourism council’s Akbar Al-Baker said Qatar would not let Egyptians enter the country to take part in promotions aimed at boosting its tourism industry.

“The visa will not be open for our enemies — it will be open for our friends,” Baker said of Egyptians looking to come. “Are visas open for us to go there? No. So why should we open it for them? Everything is reciprocal.”

The comments were the first by a Qatari official since the nearly two-year rift began suggesting Qatar would no longer grant visas to people from Egypt, the most populous Arab country.

Qatar’s government communications office later said in a statement that Baker’s comments did not reflect the state’s official policy for issuing visas and that it welcomes “all people of the world.”

“Qatar’s position has always been clear that people should not be involved in disputes that arise between nations,” the statement said.

Many Egyptians say, however, that the visa process has been effectively closed to them since 2017, with narrow exceptions made for the immediate family members of residents and for specifically approved events.

Qatar has a population of around 2.7 million but just over 300,000 nationals, and does not publish statistics breaking down population by nationality. A 2017 report by a private consultancy estimated Egyptians at 200,000.

“When you open your arms to Qatar, Qatar will open its arms even bigger for you. But if you become an adversary of Qatar, then we will also treat you as an adversary,” Baker said.

Qatar disowns tourism official’s comments on visas for ‘enemies’

DOHA: A Qatari tourism official said the country would not grant visas to those it considers “enemies” in reference to Egyptian nationals seeking to enter the country amid an ongoing dispute, a remark that was later disowned by the Qatari government. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates...

www.arabnews.com

 

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Egypt spent $3.51b on fuel subsidies in first nine months of FY 2018-2019
07 May 2019
Reuters

• Egypt has been reducing fuel subsidies as part of an IMF-backed reform program that began in 2016
• The country is due to remove subsidies on most energy products by June

CAIRO: Egypt spent 60.1 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.51 billion) on fuel subsidies in the first nine months of the 2018-2019 financial year, petroleum minister Tarek El Molla said on Tuesday, a drop of 28.45 percent from the same period the previous year.

Egypt has been reducing fuel subsidies as part of an IMF-backed reform program that began in 2016, and is due to remove subsidies on most energy products by June.

The government spent 84 billion Egyptian pounds on fuel subsidies in the first nine months of the 2017-2018 financial year. The financial year runs from July to June.

Egypt spent $3.51bn on fuel subsidies in first nine months of FY 2018-2019

CAIRO: Egypt spent 60.1 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.51 billion) on fuel subsidies in the first nine months of the 2018-2019 financial year, petroleum minister Tarek El Molla said on Tuesday, a drop of 28.45 percent from the same period the previous year. Egypt has been reducing fuel subsidies as...

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Egypt: Alexandria Court Jails 44 Muslim Brotherhood Members
12 May, 2019

Ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi is seen behind bars during his trial at a court in Cairo. (Reuters file photo)

Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat

The Alexandria Criminal Court on Saturday sentenced five people to life in prison for joining the Muslim Brotherhood and jailed 39 others for 15 years on the same charges.

The case dates back to 2018, when 44 people were arrested for vandalism and threatening people in the el-Soyoof area of Alexandria.

The prosecution charged the defendants with joining a banned group, possessing flammable materials, setting cars ablaze and assaulting citizens. They also carried out demonstrations and distributed leaflets bearing the slogans of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Rabea sign.

In related news, the Cairo Criminal Court postponed the re-trial of ousted former president Mohamed Morsi and 28 others to May 19 in the case known as the "illegal crossing of eastern borders.”

The re-trial was ordered after the Supreme Court of Cassation in November overturned the sentences to execute Morsi, Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, and his deputy Rashad al-Bayoumi, Muhayy Hamed, Mohammed Saad al-Katatni. Over 20 others were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Prosecutors accuse the defendants of illegally crossing the eastern borders, attacking security and policing facilities, and killing police officers in collaboration with the international Muslim Brotherhood organizations and Lebanese Hezbollah party during the January 2011 revolution.

Meanwhile, the Court of Cassation supported the 10-year prison sentence against Mohamed Badie, and three-year imprisonment for the other defendants in a case referred to as the “Beni Suef” events.

The ruling stated that the appellant joined an organization with the purpose to disrupt the provisions of the constitution and the law, prevent state institutions from carrying out their work and attack the personal freedom of citizens and the public rights guaranteed by the constitution.

The prosecution also accused the defendants of joining a group established contrary to the law, possession of weapons and ammunition, destruction of public property of the state, intimidation of citizens and the prevention of state institutions from operating.

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Egypt's prosecutor orders release of seven opposition figures: source
May 21, 2019 /

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s public prosecutor on Monday ordered the release of a former diplomat and other opposition figures who have criticized President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a judicial source said.

Masoum Marzouk, a former ambassador, and six other prominent opposition activists were arrested in August and have been in prison since.
The activists were held on charges of supporting a terrorist group in achieving its goals and receiving funds for terrorism.

Their release was ordered pending further investigation. The seven opposition figures also include academic Yahya Kazaz and activist Raed Salama.

Marzouk had called for a referendum on Sisi’s rule, in a rare public criticism of the former general.

A second judicial source said the prosecution may decide to shelve the case against them or refer the activists to a criminal court.

Rights activists say Sisi has overseen a relentless crackdown on dissent in Egypt since 2014. At least 60,000 people have been jailed on political grounds, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate.

Sisi has denied holding political prisoners and his backers say the measures were necessary to stabilize Egypt after its 2011 uprising.
Reporting by Haitham Ahmed, writing by Lena Masri, Editing by William Maclean

Egypt's prosecutor orders release of seven opposition figures - source

Egypt's public prosecutor on Monday ordered the release of a former diplomat and other opposition figures who have criticized President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a judicial source said.

www.reuters.com

 

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Sisi to Discuss with African Leaders Joint Cooperation
Friday, 24 May, 2019

File photo: Egypt's President Sisi (Thibault Camus/AFP)

Cairo - Waleed Abdul Rahman

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi kicks off Friday a visit to four countries in the Dark Continent, four months after Egypt assumed the chairmanship of the African Union.

Sisi seeks to enhance cooperation with African countries during his scheduled visits to Zambia, South Africa, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Egyptian leader was elected chair of the 55-member pan- African body after Rwandan President Paul Kagame stepped aside in February.

Informed sources said that “Sisi will hold bilateral summits with the African leaders to discuss means for enhancing relations and joint cooperation.”

In South Africa’s Pretoria, Sisi plans to join 15 other leaders to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Cyril Ramaphosa at the “Loftus” Stadium under the theme “Together We Celebrate Democracy: Renewal and Growth in the Service of Africa.”

Egypt’s State Information Services said in a report, published Thursday by MENA, that Sisi’s African tour sets the stage for wider and more advanced economic cooperation and for increasing the size of commercial exchange and investments between Cairo and Cape Town.

The report, prepared by the media office of the Egyptian embassy in Pretoria, said Egypt and South Africa have strong economic ties since 1994, when the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced that full diplomatic relations would be resumed between the two countries following the April general elections in South Africa that year.

The two states have also signed several economic agreements and memorandums.

Meanwhile, Sisi on Thursday gave his directives to officials to continue developing the tourism sector through structural reforms in order to increase competitiveness.

The President met with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli and Tourism Minister Rania el Mashaat.

According to Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady, the meeting discussed the restoration of Montaza district in Alexandria to revive tourism in the coastal city.

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Egypt Hopes Sudan Rapprochement Would Break Deadlock in Renaissance Dam Talks
Monday, 27 May, 2019

Egyptians wait for a ferry to cross the Nile river in the island of Warraq in the Egyptian capital Cairo on March 12, 2019. (AFP)

Cairo - Mohammed Abdo Hasanein

Egypt has been hoping that the rapprochement with the new authority in Sudan would help break the deadlock in the negotiations between Cairo and Addis Ababa on the Renaissance Dam.

Last Saturday, head of Sudan's ruling military council General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan visited Cairo and asserted his rejection to build relations with states harming Egypt or Gulf countries.

Dr. Hani Raslan, an expert on Sudan at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday that Burhan’s statements reveal the Sudanese military council’s foreign policy.

“Sudan’s decision not to harm Egypt also includes talks on the Renaissance Dam, which has caused differences between the three concerned parties,” said Raslan.

The project on the Nile has caused problems with Cairo, which fears the dam will restrict the river’s waters coming down from Ethiopia's highlands, through the deserts of Sudan, to Egyptian fields and reservoirs.

The planned 6,000-megawatt dam is the centerpiece of Ethiopia's bid to become Africa's biggest power exporter.

Ethiopia’s leaders insist the dam will not impact Egypt and Sudan.

Last April, Egypt announced that a Cairo ministerial meeting on negotiations has been postponed, following the toppling of the Sudanese regime.

“There is no agreement yet on a new date for resuming the meetings,” Mohammed Al-Sibai, the spokesman for Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Raslan, too, did not expect the negotiations between the concerned parties to take a different course. Sudan is busy with its internal problems, and the country’s foreign policy is currently not a priority for the ruling military council, the expert said.

“However, the rapprochement between Sudan and Egypt would have a positive impact,” Raslan said.

Egypt Hopes Sudan Rapprochement Would Break Deadlock in Renaissance Dam Talks

Egypt has been hoping that the rapprochement with the new authority in Sudan would help break the deadlock in the negotiations between Cairo and Addis Ababa on the Renaissance Dam. Last Saturday, head of Sudan's ruling military council General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan visited Cairo and asserted...

aawsat.com

 

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Egypt: Accused in Nusra Front Case Sought to Target Christians
Sunday, 26 May, 2019

The High Court of Justice in Cairo. (Reuters)

Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat

Egyptian prosecutor in the trial of 16 convicts, held in what is known in the media as the Nusra Front case, said Saturday the accused established a terrorist organization in an attempt to disrupt the constitution and laws and prevent state institutions and public authorities from carrying out their work.

“The members also sought to target the police and shed Egyptian Christians’ blood by recruiting elements and training them on using firearms to target public and private facilities,” the prosecutor said, noting that terrorism was one of the means used by the organization to achieve its purposes.

The Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) ordered that the defendants be referred to the Supreme Emergency State Security Court (SESSC), which adjourned the case to June 8.

“From 2011 until 2014, the first accused assumed the leadership of the organization to damage the national unity and social peace while the second funded the organization and its members to commit terrorist crimes,” according to the investigations carried out by the SSSP.

The defendants transferred the members to Syria to join the Nusra Front. Its affiliated terrorist cells were divided into groups that monitored the targets to be attacked through terrorist operations and gathered information and logistic support to provide needed equipment.

Investigations further showed that a group also promoted the organization’s terrorist and takfiri ideology in order to attract more new recruits.

A number of organizational headquarters were also unveiled during investigations. They were used as training camps or arms and explosives warehouses.

Elements also used desert areas as hideouts.

Separately, the Cairo Criminal Court adjourned to June 9 the retrial of five defendants in the case of the al-Warraq terrorist cell.

They are accused of targeting police officers and public institutions and killing two people, including police secretary Amr Ezzat.

The Public Prosecution has charged the accused with possessing firearms and provocative leaflets, killing civilians and policemen and joining a terrorist group.

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Egypt Unfreezes Assets of Former Interior Minister
26 May, 2019

Habib al-Adly (R) is seen at the Police Academy for his trial on the charges of corruption in Cairo, Egypt on February 7, 2016. (Getty Images)

Asharq Al-Awsat

Egypt has unfrozen the assets of former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, who was acquitted on all corruption-related charges earlier this month, a judicial source confirmed Sunday.

The Illicit Gains Authority decided last Thursday to lift freezes on al-Adly's assets and those of aides who were key players in the graft.

"He is free to walk, with no cases or charges against him at the moment," the judicial source told AFP.

Adly served during the term of former President Hosni Mubarak.

In May, a court fined the former minister 500 Egyptian pounds (about $29) on charges of abusing public funds.

Adly was sentenced in April 2017 to seven years in prison along with 10 other former officials, for embezzling about $122 million.

But his case was thrown out, with the court citing procedural errors, and a retrial was ordered last year.

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Egypt: Morsi, Brotherhood Leaders Trial Delayed
Monday, 27 May, 2019

Former President Mohamed Morsi (Reuters)

Cairo- Asharq Al-Awsat

Cairo Criminal Court postponed until the first of June the trial of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and 28 others, including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, in the case known as the “illegal crossing of eastern borders”.

The court listened to the defendants’ panel and the lawyers questioned the charges against their clients, including the crimes of “attacking security and police facilities, in agreement with elements of the Lebanese Hezbollah, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”

Cairo Criminal Court, chaired by Judge Mohammed Shirin Fahmi, summoned several prominent witnesses in the case, including former President Hosni Mubarak and Interior Minister Habib al-Adly.

In his previous testimony in December, Mubarak accused Morsi and Brotherhood leaders of holding meetings with Hezbollah and Hamas to stir chaos in Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.

The prosecution charged the defendants with “killing 32 security forces and prisoners in Abu Zaabal prison, 14 prisoners in Wadi al-Natrun prison, and a prisoner in al-Marj prison.”

They were also accused of smuggling about 20,000 prisoners from these three prisons and kidnapping three officers and a border guard, and forcibly taking them to Gaza.

In 2016, the Court of Cassation overturned the convictions ranging from rigorous imprisonment to execution, and ordered their retrial in the case.

The previous ruling, revoked by the Cassation Court, was issued by a Cairo criminal court in 2015. The ruling included execution by hanging for Morsi, Brotherhood's general guide Mohamed Badie, his deputy Rashad al-Bayumi, member of the Guidance Bureau Muhi Hamed, Speaker of dissolved parliament Saad el-Katatni, and Brotherhood senior leader Issam al-Aryan. The rest of the defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment.

In similar news, the prosecution re-trialed two defendants, who were previously sentenced in absentia, in the case known as “returnees from Libya” after their arrest. The court set June 10 for sentencing.

The court had previously sentenced 10 present convicts and four in absentia, with sentences ranging between three years and 15 years in prison.

In October, the Court of Cassation accepted the appeal of the defendants, overturned their convictions and ordered their retrial before a new chamber.

The prosecution stated that they were accused of joining an organization with the purpose of disrupting the provisions of the constitution and the law, and terrorism was one the methods they used.

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Nile neighbors’ relations return to normal
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed
May 27, 2019


Sudan’s hostility toward Egypt, which lasted more than 20 years, has finally ended. During these years, Cairo and Khartoum were estranged and differences dominated their relations, with each capital being an axis against the other.

The visit of Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s ruling interim military council, to Cairo is an important political development toward positive arrangements that will restore the desired regional equation. Sudan under Omar Al-Bashir was aligned with Qatar, Iran and Libya’s militias, although it took part in the war in Yemen under arrangements that secured Khartoum and Bashir an additional regional role. As for Egypt, Bashir’s rule witnessed the worst relations between the two countries since independence. Bashir and the “Islamic nationalist” Muslim Brotherhood movement made Khartoum a rival to Damascus as the capital of extremist organizations, and Cairo was suspicious of Sudan’s role in the terrorist attacks that hit Egypt in multiple waves.

The removal of Bashir thanks to an overwhelming popular desire has changed the regional equation. Al-Burhan’s visit to Cairo reinforced the expectations of changing the removed president’s policy and it was preceded by many meaningful signs, including the refusal to receive the foreign minister of Qatar and receive the Bahraini foreign minister instead; and, more importantly, Al-Burhan's own statement that Sudan will not adopt hostile policies toward its neighbors.

The steps taken by Sudan’s ruling interim military council seem to indicate that it wants to get rid of Bashir’s political legacy and put an end to its intense animosity. These steps include international and national reconciliations, the most recent of which was the return of Yasir Arman, who was accused of serious charges when he decided to run for president.

The steps taken by the head of Sudan’s ruling interim military council seem to indicate that it wants to get rid of Bashir’s political legacy
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

The arrangements of Sudan’s internal affairs may take longer due to the difficult legacy of the previous regime, as well as the multiplicity of forces and different orientations. The external affairs seem to have been determined by the Sudanese leadership through several messages, most notably Al-Burhan’s visit to Cairo and his statements that have ended two decades of bad relations between the two neighbors, which were reflected in the poor relationships on the border, water, security and political files. In addition, the visit of Al-Burhan’s deputy, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, to Jeddah has stressed the new policy of Sudan and the continuation of its membership of the military alliance in Yemen.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Sudan are the mainstays of the Red Sea security system. Attempts were made to establish the system last year but the main obstacle to its implementation was the lack of confidence in the Bashir regime, which had already concluded a hostile agreement granting the island of Suakin to Turkey as a military base. A Turkish military presence in the waters of the Red Sea has no justification whatsoever, unless it is directed against Egypt and Saudi Arabia. With the removal of Bashir, it seems that Turkey will not be able to harness the island as a military base against the Red Sea states. Among the first steps announced early after the fall of Bashir’s regime was a review of the administration of ports that Bashir gave to hostile regional governments. These ports were believed to have been used for suspicious non-civilian purposes.

The interests of Sudan as a large country have come from the framework laid down by the former regime, which was based primarily on the policies of the extremist Muslim Brotherhood. Moreover, no one expects Sudan to engage in another cycle of chaos. The ultimate goal is for Sudan to devote itself to internal development and benefit from its relations with its neighbors, as the interim military council has done since the middle of last month, with the support of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to stabilize the Sudanese pound and fuel prices. It is in the interests of Sudan for the Red Sea to be a region free of war and enmity, including Somalia and Yemen.

• Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a veteran columnist. He is the former general manager of Al Arabiya news channel, and former editor in chief of Asharq Al-Awsat.Twitter: @aalrashed

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point-of-view

Nile neighbors’ relations return to normal

Sudan’s hostility toward Egypt, which lasted more than 20 years, has finally ended. During these years, Cairo and Khartoum were estranged and differences dominated their relations, with each capital being an axis against the other.

www.arabnews.com