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Egypt, Türkiye Discuss Cooperation in Military Industries

Egyptian and Turkish officials discuss ways to cooperate in military industries (Egyptian cabinet)
Egyptian and Turkish officials discuss ways to cooperate in military industries (Egyptian cabinet)
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Egypt, Türkiye Discuss Cooperation in Military Industries

Egyptian and Turkish officials discuss ways to cooperate in military industries (Egyptian cabinet)
Egyptian and Turkish officials discuss ways to cooperate in military industries (Egyptian cabinet)

Egypt and Türkiye have discussed cooperation in military industries, a few weeks after the two countries restored diplomatic relations.

Egyptian Minister of State for Military Production Mohamed Salah El-Din Mostafa discussed with Salih Mutlu Sen, Charge d'Affaires of Türkiye in Cairo, ways for boosting cooperation between the two sides.

Early this month, Cairo and Ankara appointed ambassadors to each other's capitals for the first time in a decade to restore normal diplomatic relations.

Amr Elhamamy became Egypt's ambassador in Ankara while Türkiye nominated Salih Mutlu Sen as ambassador in Cairo, the Egyptian foreign ministry said at the time.

According to a statement by the Egyptian cabinet, Mostafa on Monday reviewed with the Turkish Charge d'Affaires, the manufacturing, technical, and technological capabilities of the companies and units of the ministry.

The meeting also touched on means to open prospects for joint cooperation between military production companies and similar Turkish companies in various fields of manufacturing.

Mostafa stressed that his Ministry was interested in the introduction of modern technologies to its factories, expanding its military and civil products, and raising their quality and competitiveness in the global markets.

He invited Turkish military industry companies to participate in the Egyptian Defense Exhibition (EDEX-2023) scheduled for December 2023.

He stressed willingness to establish new production lines in cooperation with the Turkish side, which opens up prospects and a more spacious field to enter the Arab and African markets.

Normalization between Ankara and Cairo accelerated after Sisi and Erdogan shook hands in Doha at the World Cup in 2022.

After a series of further steps towards rapprochement, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry visited Türkiye to show solidarity after the massive earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in Türkiye and Syria in February.

The Presidents of the two countries then spoke by telephone following the February 6 earthquake.

On Monday, Salih Mutlu Sen said that Egypt and Türkiye have constructive cooperation in many fields, which is based on mutual trust and respect.

He also appreciated the role played by the ministry in supporting and encouraging investment in Egypt.

He expressed his aspiration to create new opportunities for cooperation and open new horizons for investment to benefit both sides.

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Arab World

‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Lebanese farmer Abu Taleb briefly returned to his orchard last month to salvage an avocado harvest but ran away empty handed as soon as Israeli air raids began.

"The war broke out just before the first harvest season," said Abu Taleb, displaced from the village of Tayr Debba near the southern city Tyre.

"When I went back in mid-October, it was deserted... it was scary," said the father of two, who is now sheltering in Tripoli more than 160 kilometers to the north and asked to be identified by a pseudonym because of security concerns.

Abu Taleb said his harvesting attempt was interrupted by an Israeli raid on the neighboring town of Markaba.

He was forced back to Tripoli without the avocados he usually exports every year.

Agricultural regions in Lebanon have been caught in the crossfire since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah ramped up in October last year, a full-scale war breaking out on September 23.

The UN's agriculture agency, FAO, said more than 1,909 hectares of farmland in south Lebanon had been damaged or left unharvested between October last year and September 28.

The conflict has also displaced more than half a million people, including farmers who abandoned their crops just when they were ready to harvest.

Hani Saad had to abandon 120 hectares of farmland in the southern region of Nabatiyeh, which is rich in citrus and avocado plantations.

"If the ceasefire takes place within a month, I can save the harvest, otherwise, the whole season is ruined," said Saad who has been displaced to the coastal city of Jounieh, north of Beirut.

When an Israeli strike sparked a fire in one of Saad's orchards, he had to pay out of his own pocket for the fuel of the fire engine that extinguished the blaze.

His employees, meanwhile, have fled. Of 32 workers, 28 have left, mainly to neighboring Syria.

- 'Worst phase' -

Israeli strikes have put at least two land crossings with Syria out of service, blocking a key export route for produce and crops.

Airlines have suspended flights to Lebanon as insurance costs soar.

This has dealt a deadly blow to agricultural exports, most of which are destined for Gulf Arab states.

Fruit exporter Chadi Kaadan said exports to the Gulf have dropped by more than 50 percent.

The supply surplus in the local market has caused prices to plummet at home, he added.

"In the end, it is the farmer who loses," said Saad who used to earn $5,000 a day before the war started. Today, he barely manages $300.

While avocados can stay on the tree for months, they are starting to run out of water following Israeli strikes on irrigation channels, Saad said.

Citrus fruits and cherimoyas have already started to fall.

"The war has ruined me. I spend my time in front of the TV waiting for a ceasefire so I can return to my livelihood," Saad told AFP.

Gaby Hage, a resident of the Christian town of Rmeish, on the border with Israel, is one of the few farmers who decided to stay in south Lebanon.

He has only been able to harvest 100 of his 350 olive trees, which were left untended for a year because of cross-border strikes.

"I took advantage of a slight lull in the fighting to pick what I could," he told AFP.

Hage said agriculture was a lifeline for the inhabitants of his town, which has been cut off by the war.

Ibrahim Tarchichi, president of the farmers' union in the Bekaa Valley, which was hit hard by the strikes, believes that agriculture in Lebanon is going through the "worst phase" of its recent history.

"I have experienced four wars, it has never been this serious," he said.