Egypt's Sisi Begins African Tour Targeting Political, Economic Cooperation

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrives in Luanda, Angola. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrives in Luanda, Angola. (Egyptian Presidency)
TT

Egypt's Sisi Begins African Tour Targeting Political, Economic Cooperation

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrives in Luanda, Angola. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrives in Luanda, Angola. (Egyptian Presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi kicked off on Tuesday an African tour that includes Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique.  

Sisi will participate in the 22nd summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), during which the rotating chairmanship will be handed over from Egypt to Zambia.  

Presidential spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said Sisi's tour comes within Egypt's keenness to intensify communication and coordination with African nations.  

Fahmy indicated that the visits aim to boost Egyptian relations with the countries in various fields, especially by strengthening cooperation at economic, trade, and investment levels. The tour addresses the advanced priority accorded to African issues in Egyptian foreign policy.  

Observers told Asharq Al-Awsat that the tour is geopolitically important to Cairo and opens a new horizon for Egyptian diplomacy in southern Africa.  

They added that it focuses on boosting bilateral cooperation, dealing with the continent's concerns, and discussing regional developments.  

Egypt has intensified its diplomatic activity in Africa in the last ten years.  

According to an official report by the Egyptian State Information Service, African countries accounted for more than 30 percent of all presidential visits in recent years.  

During the past year, Sisi participated in several summits concerned with Africa, including the US-Africa Leaders' Summit in Washington and the 6th session of the AU-EU Summit between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) in Brussels.  

Ambassador Ali al-Hefny described Sisi's current tour as "extremely important," explaining that it targets several countries in southern Africa that were given less priority in Egyptian foreign policy than other regions.  

The former official stressed the importance of presidential visits to African countries, pointing out that they represent Egypt's keenness to communicate with them at the highest levels. 

Zambia and Angola boast promising opportunities to work with Egypt at the official level and with the business community, he went on to say.  

In 2019, Egypt chaired the AU, launching several cooperation initiatives, including the "Silencing the Guns" initiative to reduce armed conflicts in Africa.  

It also launched the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development to act as an African platform to discuss various threats and challenges facing the continent.  

Egypt participates in a group of major continental projects, especially in transportation linking the continent's northern and southern ends through the river navigation corridor between Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea.  

Expert in African affairs Rami Zuhdi said Sisi's visit has promising economic potential, especially in mining and oil production.  

Zuhdi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the tour has "geopolitical" importance, which "opens new horizons for Egyptian diplomacy."  

He indicated that revitalizing Egypt's role in COMESA is essential for boosting its presence in the continent.  

Egypt is seeking to consolidate its African presence by adopting a set of cooperation, trade, and cultural exchange programs. 

Last month, it hosted the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group with the participation of central bank governors, finance ministers, and officials representing the 81 member countries.  

Egypt is the third largest economy in Africa in terms of GDP after Nigeria and South Africa.  

Cairo and Ethiopia account for about 63 percent of the total foreign direct investment within the COMESA group in the petroleum, services, and manufacturing sectors. 



US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
TT

US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)

The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

The moves deal a blow to the RSF's attempts to burnish its image and assert legitimacy - including by installing a civilian government- as the paramilitary group seeks to expand its territory beyond the roughly half of the country it currently controls.

The RSF rejected the measures.

"America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong. Today, it is rewarding those who started the war by punishing (RSF leader) General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, which is also wrong," said an RSF spokesman when reached for comment.

The war in Sudan has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF. It has also carried out mass looting campaigns across swathes of the country, arbitrarily killing and sexually assaulting civilians in the process.

The RSF denies harming civilians and attributes the activity to rogue actors it says it is trying to control.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.

"The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities," Blinken said.

Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him and his family from travelling to the US and freezing any US assets he might hold. Financial institutions and others that engage in certain activity with him also risk being hit with sanctions themselves.

It had previously sanctioned other leaders, as well as army officials, but had not sanctioned Dagalo, known as Hemedti, as attempts to bring the two sides to talks continued.

Such attempts have stalled in recent months.

"As the overall commander of the RSF, Hemedti bears command responsibility for the abhorrent and illegal actions of his forces," the Treasury said.

Sudan's army and RSF have been fighting for almost two years, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies struggle to deliver relief. More than half of Sudan's population faces hunger, and famine has been declared in several areas.

The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the army and RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

Blinken said in the statement that "both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan and lack the legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan."

The US has sanctioned army leaders as well as individuals and entities linked to financing its weapons procurement. Last year, Blinken accused the RSF and the army, which has carried out numerous indiscriminate air strikes, of war crimes.