Security and military delegations from the two rival authorities in Libya will meet in Egypt’s Red Sea city of Hurghada on Monday, with the aim of reaching a mutual ground and preparing for 5+5 military committee meetings. The delegations from the Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar in the East and the Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez Al Sarraj in the West will meet for the first time in five years in Egypt, under the auspices of the United Nations. Libya has seen years of violence since the ouster of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, with the GNA and the parliament in the east, elected in 2014, vying for power. A ceasefire was announced by the GNA and the Libyan parliament in separate statements in July. Egypt has been pushing for a political settlement in Libya and calling for a ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of militias and halt to foreign intervention in the country, as well as a fair distribution of wealth. In June, Egypt proposed a peace initiative dubbed the Cairo Declaration, which was based on the conclusion of the Berlin conference. It proposed a ceasefire and the election of a leadership council. A month later, the Egyptian parliament granted its approval for a potential deployment of the country’s armed forces abroad for the purposes of national security “in the strategic western direction against the work of armed criminal militias and foreign terrorist elements.” The decision came after President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi warned the country “will not stand idle” in the face of any attack on Libya’s Sirte, which he earlier described as a “red line” for Egypt’s national security.

Egypt s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi attended on Sunday the opening of hydrocracking complex project in Qalyubiya governorate, north of Cairo. El-Sisi said the complex s inauguration was delayed owing to the state of instability that followed the 2011 uprising. "The project stopped around ten years because of the state of instability and the state was deprived of economic gains," he stressed during the event. The inauguration was attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, a number of ministers and parliament speaker Ali Abdel Aal.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Al-Safadi affirmed both countries’ steady position on support for the restoration of the legitimate rights of the Palestinians. Both ministers stressed in a meeting in Amman on Wednesday the necessity of reaching a fair and comprehensive settlement for the Palestinian issue according to international law. Shoukry is in Jordan to participate in a quadripartite meeting on Thursday on Palestine with regional and international counterparts. The meeting between the Egyptian, Jordanian, German and French foreign ministers will see an exchange of viewpoints on the current status of the peace process in the Middle East. It will see discussions on means of accelerating the resumption of the peace process and support to reaching a comprehensive and fair political settlement in Palestine on the basis of a two-state solution. In the past months, Egypt and Jordan have stressed their rejection of any unilateral Israeli action concerning the annexation of the occupied West Bank, which has been delayed temporarily as part of the recent normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, Mr. President, At the outset, I would like to thank Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande for his remarkable efforts as the President of the last session of the UN General Assembly, wishing you success in presiding over the work of the current session, wisely and objectively. Mr. President, Convening this year’s high-level General Assembly session is of a key importance since it coincides with the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations as well as with the global outbreak of coronavirus that has taken a heavy toll on people, economy and society. Mr. President, Egypt, by virtue of its history and location and the fact that it is an African, Arab, Islamic, and Mediterranean country and a founding member of the United Nations, has a vision of its own regarding the approach that should be adopted to improve the performance and enhance the effectiveness of the international multilateral system with a special focus on the United Nations. I would like to take this opportunity to present some pragmatic measures to achieve our common goals in the three pillars of the United Nations. The first pillar, with regard to maintaining international peace and security, it has become necessary for all of us to adopt an approach that guarantees the implementation of resolutions issued within multilateral frameworks, while prioritizing the implementation of the stable and consistent rules and principles in the Charter of the United Nations and International Law. Thereby, countries should have a political will to implement and abide by the resolutions and to accomplish the tasks of the United Nations in two ways. One of them is via closely following up on the implementation of what has been agreed upon and taking all necessary measures to help states comply with their obligations and build their capacities, taking into account the principle of national ownership. The other is holding states that are deliberately violating international law and UN resolutions, those of the Security Council in particular, accountable. In this context, it is no longer acceptable that the binding Security Council resolutions in the field of combating terrorism would not be effectively implemented, since they provide the necessary legal framework to deal with this deadly epidemic, and that some countries are not fully committed to them thinking that they will not be held accountable for political reasons. It is regrettable that the international community continues to turn a blind eye to the support a handful of countries provide to terrorists either by providing them with money and weapons or safe havens and media and political platforms. They also help facilitate the movement of terrorist fighters to conflict areas, especially to Libya and Syria before. Egypt s keenness to establish international peace and security aims to spare the people the scourge of armed conflicts by launching comprehensive political operations based on the references included in the relevant Security Council resolutions. Regarding the crisis in Libya, Egypt adheres to the path of political settlement led by the United Nations on the basis of the political agreement signed in Skhirat, the outcomes of the Berlin conference and the Cairo Declaration launched by the Libyan Speaker of Parliament and the Commander of the Libyan National Army, which is considered a joint and comprehensive political initiative to end the conflict in Libya. It includes specific steps and a clear timetable to restore order and establish a consensus government that would meet the aspirations of the Libyan people. The crisis does not only affect the Libyan interior affairs but also the security of neighboring countries and international stability. Egypt is determined to support the Libyan brothers to rid their country of terrorist organizations and militias and to put an end to the flagrant interference of some regional parties that bring foreign fighters to Libya so as to realize the known ambitions and foregone colonial illusions. Therefore, we have previously declared and we are reiterating here that Egypt will confront the continuous fighting and act of crossing the red line represented in Sirte - Jufra line in defense of its national security and the safety of its people. We also renew the call for all parties to return to the political track in order to achieve the peace, security and stability the brotherly people of Libya deserve. If we truly seek the implementation of international resolutions and the achievement of lasting peace and security in the Middle East region, this is not more worthy than the issue of Palestine whose people still aspire to have the most basic human rights; living in their independent state along with the rest of the region. Gaining this right has drained generations and depleted many resolutions to the extent that it has been burdening the human conscience. There is no way to get rid of this burden and to open up the horizons of peace, cooperation and coexistence except by realizing the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state, the capital of which is Eastern Jerusalem so that peace and security would prevail for all peoples of the region. The international community must fulfill its commitment to achieving the long-overdue peace. It also should address the measures that aim to seize the lands of the Palestinians and undermine the foundations of a settlement and the two-state solution adopted by international resolutions and upon which the peace process was based. Egypt initiated it in pursuit of achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. Arriving at a comprehensive political solution has become a matter of urgency to put out the fires of war and implement all elements of a political settlement in accordance with the Security Council resolution No. (2254) without abridgement or stalling to ensure the unity and territorial integrity of Syria and its institutions, meet the aspirations of its people, and completely eliminate terrorism. By the same logic, it’s time to take a firm stand in order to end the crisis in Yemen by implementing the terms of reference for conflict settlement in accordance with Security Council resolution No. (2216), the Gulf initiative and the outcomes of the comprehensive national dialogue, in a manner that respects legitimacy, guarantees Yemen’s unity and independence and by putting an end to the exploitation of its lands to target neighboring countries or to obstruct freedom of navigation in Bab al-Mandab Strait. Mr. President, With regard to the issue of the Renaissance Dam, I would like to convey to you the Egyptian nation’s great concern about this project that is being constructed by a neighboring and friendly country on the river that has given life to millions of people over thousands of years. We ve spent almost a decade in painstaking negotiations with our brothers in Sudan and Ethiopia, in an endeavor to reach an agreement regulating the filling and operation of the dam and strike the required balance between achieving the development requirements of the friendly Ethiopian people and safeguarding Egypt s water interests and ensuring its right to life. Over the course of this year, we have gone through successive rounds of intensive negotiations where the government of the United States of America made invaluable efforts to bring the three countries positions closer through the talks that it backed with the assistance of the World Bank over several months. We also entered, wholeheartedly, into the discussions intiated by my brother, the Prime Minister of Sudan. Then, we entered into the rounds of negotiations the Republic of South Africa, current AU chair, called for. However, these efforts "unfortunately" did not yield the desired results. The River Nile is not restricted to a party and its waters are considered a matter of survival for Egyptians without infringing our brothers’ rights. The Security Council’s response to Egypt s call to hold a consultation session on this subject last June 29 confirmed the importance of this issue and its direct connection with preserving international peace and security. The international community, hence, shoulders the responsibility of encouraging all parties to reach the desired agreement that achieves our common interests. However, the negotiation period should not be extended indefinitely, thus imposing the status quo, because our peoples yearn for stability and development and for a promising new era of cooperation. Mr. President, As for the second pillar of the United Nations, which is achieving sustainable development, Egypt firmly believes that supporting development efforts is a prerequisite for strengthening international peace and security and establishing a stable world order. It is the best way to prevent extremism and reduce armed conflicts and humanitarian crises. Egypt has supported the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and played a pivotal role in support of the Secretary-General s efforts to reform the development system, believing in the importance of enhancing the organization s ability to achieve these ambitious goals. The grave crisis sparked by the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic necessitates offering support to developing countries especially Africa ​​via providing stimulus packages for their economies and easing the burdens of accumulated debts on them as well as making use of the tools available to international financial institutions. Thus, an enabling environment that can help these countries contain the effects of the pandemic, deal with the current problems, such as terrorism and irregular migration, and address causes of conflicts, would be created Mr. President, With regard to the third pillar of the United Nations, the international human rights agenda is assuming an increasing importance for its direct impact on promoting human development, improving the level of provided services, preserving people’s human rights to ensure a decent life for all and dealing with the challenges they face at all levels, which supports, at the same time, the stability of the international system. We have strengthened our efforts in the field of human rights at all levels: political, economic and social since we believe that they should complement one another, particularly as per the Egyptian constitution and the amended articles that would guarantee rights and freedoms of future generations, establish the Senate and its role in supporting the democratic system and ensure adequate representation of women in the House of Representatives to at least a quarter of the seats. The constitution also includes articles that provide for regulating the work of state institutions and agencies, reinforcing separation of powers and enshrining the principle of rotation of power. Citizenship can be promoted and justice, equality and equal opportunities can be achieved in several ways without discrimination for any reason. Several efforts could also be made to empower Egyptian women, combat violence against them, call to a new religious discourse, affirm freedom of belief, assert the state’s role of building places of worship without discrimination, and empower people with special needs. Additionally, these efforts support investing in youth, particularly through their inclusion in the decision-making process, establishing direct dialogues with them through periodic youth fora and implementing youth training and qualification initiatives to participate effectively in public work. As for the economic level and in line with the vision of Egypt 2030, it is true that had it not been for the support that the people of Egypt gave to state institutions, it would not have been possible to pass the difficult stages of the structural reform program, whose success would have made a great contribution in fortifying the economy and curbing its losses due to the coronavirus pandemic. Egypt is also among a few world countries that managed to achieve a real growth rate despite the pandemic, control inflation rates, and cause the decline in unemployment rates to their lowest in twenty years. We have also established major national projects in the fields of infrastructure, provided adequate housing and energy supply, and devised social programs targeting the low-income brackets to provide them with the necessary protection and mitigate the effects of reforms on them. Health care, a fundamental right, has been prioritized; many initiatives have been adopted and the stages of the comprehensive health insurance system covering all Egyptians started to be implemented, all of which are efforts that directly contribute to protecting a citizen s right to a decent life. In the midst of all this, I cannot help but pointing out that we have never failed to fulfill our humanitarian duty to take in about six million migrants and refugees fleeing wars, political crises and difficult economic conditions. Egypt currently hosts them on its land and among its people; they enjoy all the services the state provides for Egyptians, without any significant aid or support from our international partners despite the importance they attach to the rights of these migrants. Mr. President, We should address the issue of equitable geographical representation on the Security Council to ensure that it better reflects our world today and the current balance of power, which differs greatly from what it was during devising the international system. Egypt stresses the importance of the expansion of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories in a way that enhances its credibility and achieves a just and equitable representation of Africa to rectify the historical injustice endured by the African continent and to respond to its legitimate demands as stipulated in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration . Mr. President, Confronting the grave challenges caused by the coronavirus outbreak and the existing regional and international problems necessitate upholding the principle of international cooperation and solidarity to face these challenges and to avoid conflicts. If “hope is born in the womb of suffering”, we may find in the current crisis what drives us to breathe new life into our relentless efforts to reinforce international multilateral action coupled with the support provided by the United Nations. As a founding member of this organization and as a country that contributed in the creation of human civilization since the dawn of time, Egypt will spare no effort to achieve the vision of renewal and reform. Since Egypt has a firm conviction and strong belief in the idea that “the land accommodates all” and as long as the conflict prevention, peacemaking and international cooperation are the rules and factors governing relations between states and peoples in order to achieve development, security, stability and prosperity for current and future generations, Egypt will make the utmost efforts to achieve that vision.

Six energy ministers, including from Egypt, signed the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) charter on Tuesday, establishing a vital platform that brings together gas producers, consumers and transit states to boost a sustainable regional market for gas. According to a joint statement, Egypt’s petroleum ministry hosted on Tuesday the signing ceremony of the Middle East energy forum – which will have its headquarters in Cairo – via teleconference with the participation of the seven ministers. The forum’s members are Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan. The forum was formed in January 2019 to "create a regional gas market, optimise resource development, cut the cost of infrastructure, offer competitive prices and improve trade ties.” The EMGF will set “a shared vision and systematic and regulated dialogue over natural gas policies… to maximise the region’s resources.” “The EMGF fully respects the rights of its members in their natural resources under international law, and supports efforts to invest their reserves and their use of current and future infrastructure for gas through effective cooperation with gas industry parties,” it said. The statement said that EMGF is open for membership submissions by any state in the Eastern Mediterranean, and any other state or regional or international organisation as an observer. It said it valued support provided by international parties and organisations including the European Union (EU) and World Bank (WB). In a separate statement, Egypt’s Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla said that turning the forum into an international governmental organisation in the region gives momentum to establishing a body that aims to bolster cooperation and dialogue over natural gas. He affirmed the importance of member countries’ role in finalising the charter in a record time of only 20 months, and establishing the forum’s bodies despite the unstable global circumstances. “EMGF countries have succeeded in making history and contribute together to pushing peace,” he said. The signing of the charter comes amid tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean region over Ankara s hunt for gas in the region in violation of the territorial waters of Greece and Cyprus, two close allies of Egypt. Conflict further heightened after Egypt and Greece signed a maritime demarcation deal in August establishing an exclusive economic zone between the two countries, sparking an angry response from Turkey. However, Greece signalled on Monday a resumption of talks with Turkey over maritime zones, after Ankara retracted an oil and gas exploration vessel from the disputed area.

Egypt s longest-standing political party has been passing through hard times recently, and over the past few days has been divided into two rival camps, each issuing a statement on the party s participation in the parliamentary elections. The Wafd Party s chairman Bahaaeddin Abu Shoqa said in a statement yesterday that it is important that the party participates in the parliamentary elections, scheduled to begin on 21 October. "I met with the party s secretary-general Fouad Badrawi and see that it is important that the party maintains unity in the coming stage, and I also affirm that the party should participate in the parliamentary elections," said Abu Shoqa, adding that "the majority of the party s Higher Council agree that the party s participation in the parliamentary elections comes through joining the National Unified coalition which will contest 284 seats reserved for party lists." The Wafd Party s deputy chairman Mohamed Abdou, however, said that internal divisions have recently rocked the party, and the way out of this is to hold elections to choose a new chairman. Abdou said in a TV interview on Saturday evening that the majority of the members of the party s Higher Council reject the chairman s decision for Al-Wafd to run in the elections as part of the Mostaqbal Watan party-led National Unified List coalition. "The party chairman s decision was made even though the list will include very few Wafd candidates, and that this is not fair for the party s future," said Abdou. Abdou said the majority of members want Al-Wafd to have no less than 40 candidates on the National Unified List. "But the Mostaqbal Watan Party, which leads the coalition, wants to field the largest number of candidates on the List at the expense of other political parties," said Abdou. Internal divisions have also hit other political parties due to disagreements on participation in the parliamentary elections. The divisions have so far prevented coalitions from submitting applications to contest the 284 seats allocated to party lists. Meanwhile, hopeful candidates in Egypt s parliamentary elections have until next Saturday to submit their nomination bids to the National Election Authority (NEA). The two-stage elections will kick off on 21 October and wrap up on 8 December.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has expressed its support for Egypt’s stance over the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a letter delivered to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi from Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi read. According to a statement by the Egyptian presidency on Saturday, El-Sisi received Congolese presidential advisor Jean-Claude Kabongo in Cairo, where he delivered a message from Tshisekedi. According to the statement, the DRC expressed its support for Egypt on the GERD issue, and aspirations to develop bilateral ties with Egypt and benefit from its expertise in the fields of infrastructure and major developmental projects. Kabongo also delivered Tshisekedi’s praise for aid delivered by Egypt to his country, the latest being medical aid sent by Cairo to help stem the spread of coronavirus. El-Sisi expressed his appreciation for the DRC’s support of Egypt on Nile water issues, stressing that Cairo is keen to offer support to the DRC and all of the continent’s countries on issues of cooperation, development and peace. El-Sisi also affirmed his appreciation of special cooperation ties with the DRC, and keenness on supporting the country in several developmental and technical fields, with an eye to increasing the volume of trade exchange between the two countries. The DRC’s support comes a few weeks after the GERD issue hit a deadlock as Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan failed to reach consensus in the latest African Union-brokered talks.

One more batch of humanitarian aid was sent from Egypt to Sudan on Wednesday to help the country amid heavy floods that have killed at least 100 people and left more than 100,000 homeless. An Egyptian military plane carrying a large quantities of foodstuffs and medical supplies has taken off from Cairo to Khartoum airport, the Egyptian military spokesman said on Wednesday. The new batch came in light of the directive of the Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to intensify the airlift Egypt has expanded to help the flood-stricken country, he added.

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated on Wednesday the Egyptian-Japanese University for Science and Technology in Alexandria’s city of Borg El Arab, as well as private universities, the Presidency said. The president is also set to open other projects for the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and the Ministry of Education. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal, and other state officials attended the ceremony. At the opening event, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said education is an issue of national security and represents a top priority for the government. He said the state faces challenges in education such as the high number of students per classroom, poor education quality indicators, high illiteracy rates, and insufficient technical education schools Egypt has about 30,000 schools with 500,000 classrooms and 23.5 million students. Madbouly noted that 73,000 new classrooms, which would cost EGP 40 billion, need to be established to reach an opitimum ratio of students per class. He added that 38 more universities are also needed to cope with population growth. Madbouly said the state has invested EGP 100 billion in education, including higher education, over the past six years.

Egypt’s candidate Mohamed Ezzeldin has been reelected to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights after securing the majority of votes by the committee’s members, a statement by the foreign ministry read on Tuesday. Ezzeldin secured 49 out of a total of 54 votes in elections held on 14 September, the statement said. The Egyptian candidate, who had previously served in the UN-body in several sessions, will assume his duties again for the 2021-2024 session. Egypt s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Mohamed Idris said the election of the Egyptian candidate came after an intensified electoral campaign by the foreign ministry, including on the level of Egypt’s missions abroad and UN member state missions in New York. Idris said the result expresses “the international community’s support and appreciation for Egypt’s important contribution in safeguarding economic, social and cultural rights at an international level.” The UN’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is the body of 18 independent experts that monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, according to the UN’s website.

Egypt has expressed its “full support” for actions by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition against armed Houthi rebels in Yemen, saying the Iran-backed movement’s practices further inflame the situation in Yemen. According to an official statement on Sunday, Egypt’s foreign ministry affirmed that it supports Saudi Arabia in its efforts to push for a political solution in Yemen and enforce the ceasefire between the legitimate government forces and the Houthi movement, formally known as Ansar Allah. The statement also stressed Egypt’s condemnation of Ansar Allah’s targeting of civilian installations in Yemen’s Ma’rib with ballistic missiles, which injured several civilians. “The foreign ministry stresses the importance of reaching a comprehensive ceasefire in Yemen to make it possible to agree on humanitarian and economic steps that guarantee the alleviation of the growing humanitarian crisis nationwide due to a stalled political solution,” it said. The statement came hours after the Saudi-led coalition’s fighter jets struck on Sunday barracks and military sites of the Houthi movement in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, according to Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV. Local sources told Al Arabiya that the coalition also destroyed four drones at Al-Delmi air base, north of Sanaa. The strikes by the coalition came a few days after the Houthi movement claimed it attacked “an important target” in Riyadh on Thursday using a ballistic missile and drones.

Preparations for Egypt s parliamentary elections will shift into high gear this week, with hopeful candidates beginning on Saturday to take the required medical tests and check-ups in line with the National Elections Authority’s (NEA) rules. A statement by the NEA said that hopeful candidates can use the Ministry of Health s website to report their personal data, select the hospital or the lab they favour, and make an appointment for the medical check-up. Article 10 of the House of Representatives Law (law 140/2020) stipulates that a hopeful seeking to run in parliamentary elections should submit a number of papers, including a medical check-up document showing that he/she tests negative for drugs. A number of current MPs including parliamentary spokesperson Salah Hassaballah, leftist MP Abdel-Hamid Kamal, and deputy speaker Soliman Wahdan underwent the necessary medical check-ups on Saturday. The medical check-ups come a few days ahead of the start of candidacy registration on 17 September, and runs until 26 September. The NEA held a surprise meeting on 10 September, announcing that registration will open on 17 September and that the two-stage election will kick off on 21 October and wrap up on 14 December. The first stage will cover 14 governorates between 21 October and 30 November. These include Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya, Assiut, New Valley, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, the Red Sea, Alexandria, Beheira, and Marsa Matruh. The second stage will cover 13 governorates between 4 November and 14 December. These comprise Cairo, Qalioubiya, Daqahliyya, Menoufiya, Gharbiya, Kafr El-Sheikh, Sharqiya, Damietta, Port Said, Ismailiya, Suez, North Sinai, and South Sinai. The NEA s press conference on 10 September came as a surprise to MPs and political parties. Many said they thought the NEA would announce the timetable for the House poll once the Senate election finishes on 16 September and that candidate registration would likely open in October. The NEA s sudden announcement of the registration and voting dates last Friday led political parties to step up coordination to prepare their lists of candidates. The pro-government Mostaqbal Watan (Future of the Homeland) party said on Sunday that it is currently leading a coalition that will contest the 284 seats reserved to party lists. The coalition includes 12 political parties: Mostaqbal Watan, Al-Wafd, the Guardians of the Nation, Modern Egypt, the Egyptian Socialist Democratic Party, the People s Republican, the Reform and Development, Tagammu, the Generation s Will, the Egyptian Freedom, the Justice, and the Congress. The above coalition is almost similar to the one which was formed last August by Mostaqbal Watan to run for the Senate s 100 party list seats. The coalition – officially entitled "the National Unified List" – won the party list seats unopposed. The Mostaqbal Watan party said it will hold a press conference Sunday to announce preparations for the elections and potential candidates for the individual and party list seats. A total of 568 seats will be up for grabs in Egypt s upcoming parliamentary elections, while another 28 seats (5 per cent) will be named by the president, bringing the House s seats to a total of 596. The 568 seats are split equally between individual and party list deputies – meaning there will be 284 candidates from each category. The House election law stipulates that 25 percent of the total seats must be reserved for women.

Polling stations closed in 14 governorates nationwide on Wednesday at 9 pm, wrapping up the two-day run-offs for Egypt s Senate elections were held Tuesday and Wednesday amid tight security and strict precautionary measures against the coronavirus pandemic. The National Election Authority (NEA) announced vote-counting started at sub-committees immediately following the closure of polling stations. The second day of run-offs witnessed a light to moderate turnout, according to live footage by satellite TV channels throughout the day. The run-offs saw 52 candidates competing for 26 seats. Egyptian expats cast their ballots abroad on Sunday and Monday. According to the NEA, among the 52 candidates 24 are affiliated with Mostaqbal Watan (Future of Homeland) Party, four with the Islamist Nour Party, three with the Guardians of the Nation Party, two with the People s Republican Party, one with the Congress Party, one with the National Movement Party, and one with the Ittihad (Union) Party. The contested seats are in 14 governorates: Qalioubiya, Menoufiya, Kafr El-Sheikh, Giza, Beni Suef, Assiut, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, Damietta, Port Said, Ismailia and Marsa Matrouh. Some 174 senators representing different constituencies countrywide were officially named last month after securing votes during the first round of elections. There are 63 million eligible voters out of the country 100 million plus population. Only 8.95 million (14.23 percent) cast their ballots during the first round in August. In the first round, the majority of seats were grabbed by the pro-government coalition "National Unified List", which is led by the Mostaqbal Watan Party (Future of Homeland), claiming, along with its allies, the majority in the newly reconstituted 300-seat upper house of parliament. The pro-government Mostaqbal Watan Party won 118 (around 60 per cent) out of the 200 contested seats. Mostaqbal Watan won 68 individual seats and 50 party list seats in the first round, according to the NEA. The Senate, which was created in accordance with constitutional amendments approved last year, will act as an advisory chamber to the House of Representatives. It will sit in place of the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament that was dissolved in 2014. Two-thirds of the members are elected via the individual candidacy and the closed party list systems, and the rest will be appointed by the president. The first session of the new body, when senators will be sworn in, is set to be held in October. The first five-year term of the Senate will end in 2025.

Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry stressed on Wednesday to Arab ministers the necessity of adopting a "unified and firm Arab policy" against Turkey’s "destructive" practices. In a speech during the Arab League’s hosted ministerial committee concerned with Turkish interventions in Arab states, Shoukry said the "flagrant Turkish interventions and practices in several Arab states represent the most emerging threats facing Arab national security." Shoukry reviewed Turkey s "blatant practices" in several Arab states which are causing societal and sectarian divisions in the region. He shed light on evidence reflecting the size of Turkish interventions in Arab nations, including facilitating the crossover of tens of thousands of terrorists and mercenaries to Syria and dispatching thousands of fighters to Libya. Shoukry highlighted rejection of the Turkish encroachment on resources in Iraq as well as Ankara s signing of an "illegitimate memoranda of understanding" with the government in Tripoli. Egypt has repeatedly stressed its rejection of Turkey’s political and military interference in Arab affairs, describing them as "expansionist" and “lacking any legitimate basis.” Tensions between the two countries escalated in the past months over Ankara s military intervention in war-torn Libya, its violation of Iraq s sovereignty, as well as Ankara s hunt for gas in the eastern Mediterranean in violation of the territorial waters of Greece and Cyprus, two close allies of Egypt. Egypt has had strained relations with Turkey since the 2013 ouster of Egypt’s late Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a close ally of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s government. Cairo has repeatedly condemned Ankara s support for the terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood.

Run-offs for Egypt’s Senate elections kicked off on Tuesday, with polling stations open in 14 governorates nationwide under heightened security and strict preventive measures amid the coronavirus crisis. Some 174 senators representing different constituencies countrywide were officially named last month after securing most votes during the first round of elections, while 26 seats are still up for grabs in the run-offs on Tuesday and Wednesday. Only 8.95 million out of 62.94 million eligible voters cast their ballots during the first round s voting in August, a total turnout of 14.23 percent. Most seats were won by a pro-government coalition led by the Mostaqbal Watan Party, claiming, along with its allies, the majority in the newly reconstituted 300-seat upper house of parliament. The remaining 26 seats, whose nominees failed to obtain the necessary absolute majority, are distributed over 14 governorates: Qalioubiya, Menoufia, Kafr El-Sheikh, Giza, Beni Suef, Assiut, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, Damietta, Port Said, Ismailia and Marsa Matrouh. In the first round, the pro-government Mostaqbal Watan Party won 118 (around 60 percent) out of the 200 contested seats. The National Election Authority (NEA) said Mostaqbal Watan won 68 individual seats and 50 party list seats during the first round, with eyes on winning a majority in the run-offs. Around 52 candidates will compete in the run-offs, of whom 24 are affiliated with Mostaqbal Watan, four with the Islamist Nour Party, three with the Guardians of the Nation Party, two with the People s Republican Party, one with the Congress Party, one with the National Movement Party, and one with the Ittihad (union) Party, according to the NEA. The results are set to be announced on 16 September. The Senate, which was created in accordance with constitutional amendments approved last year, will act as an advisory chamber to the House of Representatives. It will sit in place of the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament that was dissolved in 2014. Two-thirds of the members are elected via the individual candidacy and the closed party list systems, and the rest will be appointed by the president. The first session of the new body, where senators are required to be sworn in, is set to be held in October. The first five-year term of the Senate will end in 2025.

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi urged the speedy construction of 200 dairy assembly plants nationwide and ordered the doubling of allocations for the national veal project to EGP 2 billion (about $126.7 million), a presidential statement read. Expanding on dairy assembly plants will reflect positively on people s health and economic conditions, El-Sisi added. El-Sisi s statements came at a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation El-Sayed El-Quseir and his deputy for livestock, fisheries and poultry Mostafa El-Sayad, and General Director of the National Service Products Organisation of the Armed Forces Mostafa Amin. The president also urged supplying livestock owners with quality fodder and livestock strains known for their high productivity of meat. Funding for the national veal project was doubled last month to EGP 1 billion, the presidency said in an earlier statement. The veal project has been ongoing for the past four years. It targets providing good strains of imported livestock for fattening mainly to owners of small farms, in exchange for loans with five percent maximum interest. The project aims at creating job opportunities, developing livestock, and providing red meat at fair prices. It seeks to decrease meat imports through fattening calves to provide more meat. The project mainly targets youth, small farmers and women. Head of the Livestock and Poultry Development Sector at the Agriculture Ministry Tarek Soliman told the media 15,300 people have benefited from more than 183,000 calves in the project.

Run-offs for seats in Egypt’s Senate kicked off Sunday with polling stations open for Egyptian expats until Monday, ahead of a run-off vote at home 8-9 September. Some 174 senators, representing different constituencies countrywide, were officially named last month after receiving the majority of votes during the first round of elections, while 26 seats are still up for grabs. Only 8.95 million out of 62.94 million eligible voters cast their ballots during the four-day long voting period in August, a total turnout of 14.23 percent. Valid votes were recorded at 7.5 million, or 84.58 percent of the total turnout, with invalid ballots numbered at 1.38 million, or 15.42 percent. Most seats were won by a pro-government coalition led by the Mostaqbal Watan Party, claiming, along with its allies, the majority in the newly reconstituted 300-seat upper house of parliament. The remaining 26 seats, whose nominees failed to obtain the necessary absolute majority, are distributed over 14 governorates: Qalioubiya, Menoufia, Kafr El-Sheikh, Giza, Beni Suef, Assiut, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, Damietta, Port Said, Ismailia and Marsa Matrouh. The results are set to be announced 16 September. The Senate, which was created in accordance with constitutional amendments approved last year, will act as an advisory chamber to the House of Representatives. It will sit in place of the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament that was dissolved in 2014. Two-thirds of the members are elected via the individual candidacy and the closed party list systems, and the rest will be appointed by the president. The first session of the new body, where senators are required to be sworn in, is set to be held in October. The first five-year term of the Senate will end in 2025.

Russia has resumed international flights with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the Maldives, a government order published on Thursday showed. The government said it had authorized three flights a week to Cairo, as well as two flights a week to Dubai and to the Maldives s Velana International Airport. Russia halted all regular and charter international flights with other countries at the end of March in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak worldwide, allowing only repatriation trips. The decision was reviewed in August and the country resumed flights to Great Britain, Tanzania, Turkey and Switzerland in accordance with a number of criteria determined by the Russian anti-coronavirus crisis center. According to the Russian state news agency TASS, the criterions are recording no more than 40 new cases of the coronavirus infection per 100,000 of population during 14 days, no more than 1% of daily growth of the new cases over 14 days, and the coronavirus spread coefficient not higher than one over a week. Egypt has been witnessing a decline in its daily total of new cases and deaths in recent weeks as the government implemented various measures to control the spread the virus. It has recorded daily tallies of less than a thousand new cases consistently since 9 July. As of 1 July, the government resumed regular international flights at all its airports after a four-month hiatus due to the pandemic. Foreign tourists in groups are allowed entry into three coastal Egyptian governorates with the lowest coronavirus infection rates in the country – South Sinai, the Red Sea, and Matrouh

The United States has suspended aid to Ethiopia over the filling of its disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) without an accord with Egypt and Sudan, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, quoting a State Department official. The official, who was not authorised to speak publicly about the matter and asked not to be identified, said President Donald Trump s administration is increasingly concerned about the lack of progress in negotiations between the three countries. He said the US government is working with the three countries to facilitate an agreement that balances their interests. The US had brokered talks between the three sides late last year to break the years-long deadlock in negotiations, but failed to secure signatures from the three countries on a draft deal. Washington stressed to Ethiopia that the filling of the 6,000-megawatt dam "should not take place without an agreement”. Egypt initialed the deal drafted by the US but Ethiopia refused to sign. Addis Ababa announced in July that it had achieved its first-year target for the filling of the dam s reservoir due to the rainfall season. The move was condemned by Cairo and Khartoum, both of whom sought a legally binding agreement before the dam s filling. The State Department official s comments to Bloomberg confirm a report by Foreign Policy magazine on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo approving a plan in late August to suspend some foreign aid to Ethiopia over the dam dispute. US officials and congressional aides familiar with the matter told Foreign Policy last week that the decision made by Pompeo could affect up to $130 million in foreign aid to Ethiopia, adding that the finalised cuts could amount to less than $130 million, however. The report prompted Ethiopia to ask for clarification from the US on the signalled cuts. "We have asked for clarification on reports of the United States decision not to give the $130 million it assigned to Ethiopia," Fitsum Arega, Ethiopia s ambassador to the US, wrote on Twitter earlier this week. The reported aid cuts come as negotiations sponsored by the African Union (AU) between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan ended in deadlock last week after the three sides failed to reach consensus over the legal and technical points of contention to be included in a preliminary integrated agreement on GERD. The three countries technical and legal committees were scheduled to come up with a unified draft from a collective report of the three capitals proposals to be presented last week to South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current AU chair, but failed to reach a consensus. The three countries agreed to send a letter individually to the AU president expressing their vision for the next stage of talks, according to a statement by the Egyptian irrigation and water resources ministry following the collapse of talks, which did not provide details on when the letters would be sent. The AU-sponsored talks are observed by the US, the EU, the AU and the AU Commission. The nearly completed $5 billion dam has been a source of contention between the three countries. Cairo fears the project will significantly cut its crucial water supplies from the River Nile, while Sudan has concerns on how the reservoir will be managed. Ethiopia says the massive project, which it hopes will make it Africa s largest power exporter, is key to its development efforts.

Egypt welcomed the peace agreement the Sudanese transitional government and Sudan s Revolutionary Front initialled in South Sudan s Juba on Monday, the Egyptian foreign ministry said. “Egypt reasserts its support of Sudan in its efforts for peace, stability and prosperity,” the statement said, adding that Egypt is ready to continue its efforts to achieve stability in coordination with regional and international partners. The deal was initialled with nine armed movements grouped under Sudan s Revolutionary Front after 10 months of mediation in South Sudan. About 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since rebels took up arms there in 2003, according to the United Nations. Conflict in South Kordofan and the Blue Nile erupted in 2011, in the wake of South Sudan s independence, resuming two decades of war. The agreement covers key issues concerning security, land ownership, transitional justice, power-sharing, and the return of people who fled their homes because of fighting. It also provides for the dismantling of rebel forces and the integration of their fighters into the national army. Rebel members of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Sudan People s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) had provisionally initialled the agreement with the government late on Saturday. However, an SLM faction led by Abdelwahid Nour and a wing of the SPLM-N headed by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu refused to take part.

Egypt condemned a booby-trapped drone attack by Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen, which attempted to target Abha International Airport in the southwestern province of Aseer, a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Sunday read. The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthis announced late on Sunday intercepting and downing the drone, which it said targeted passengers at the airport, explaining to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that thousands of civilian passengers and expatriates of different nationalities use the airport daily. Following the attack, the coalition affirmed that it would continue to carry out strict measures to deter the Houthi militia. In its Sunday statement, the foreign ministry affirmed Egypt s support to the government and people of Saudi Arabia in the face of such “terrorist” attacks, as well as Saudi measures taken to preserve the Kingdom’s security and stability." Houthis in Yemen have launched hundreds of drones and missiles across the border toward Saudi Arabia, aimed at military, economic and civilian targets including several attacks on Abha International Airport. Egypt has repeatedly denounced Houthi attacks on the Kingdom.