Sisi, Chahed Discuss Libyan Crisis, Anti-Terrorism Coordination

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (unseen) at the El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (unseen) at the El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Sisi, Chahed Discuss Libyan Crisis, Anti-Terrorism Coordination

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (unseen) at the El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (unseen) at the El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed underlined on Sunday the need to intensify efforts to reach a solution to the Libyan crisis that would guarantee the country’s sovereignty.

The two officials also reviewed mechanisms of communication and coordination in all issues, mainly in the fight against terrorism.

Bassam Radi, spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, said that the meeting tackled overall bilateral relations, as the two sides have agreed on the importance of working to develop cooperation, especially in the economic field, and boosting trade exchange.

The meeting also touched on the latest developments in Libya, according to Radi, who added that both Sisi and Chahed have emphasized the necessity to intensify efforts to find a comprehensive solution to the crisis, which would preserve the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as safeguarding the capabilities of its people and restoring security and stability.

The Egyptian president’s spokesman stressed the deep and historic ties between his country and Tunisia, which was recently translated in the holding of the meeting of the Joint Egyptian-Tunisian Higher Committee in Cairo last week.

The committee, which is co-chaired by the prime ministers of the two countries concluded its works on Sunday with a firm determination to bolster bilateral ties in all fields, according to Sisi, who highlighted the importance of following up the implementation of the agreements reached during the meetings.

Meanwhile, Tunisian Ambassador in Cairo Najib Munif said that relations between the two countries have witnessed in recent years “a qualitative shift in terms of communication and coordination in all files, especially in the fight against terrorism.”

“Terrorism is one of the key challenges in the region and we must face this scourge, which is rejected by Arab society and the Islamic religion,” Munif stated.

On the outcome of the Egyptian-Tunisian Business Forum, Munif said that the Forum for Investment and Economic Partnership gave full priority to economic cooperation between the two countries in all sectors and fields, including tourism, trade, industry and others.



WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)

The World Health Organization is sending more than one million polio vaccines to Gaza to be administered over the coming weeks to prevent children being infected after the virus was detected in sewage samples, its chief said on Friday.

"While no cases of polio have been recorded yet, without immediate action, it is just a matter of time before it reaches the thousands of children who have been left unprotected," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an opinion piece in Britain's The Guardian newspaper.

He wrote that children under five were most at risk from the viral disease, and especially infants under two since normal vaccination campaigns have been disrupted by more than nine months of conflict.

Poliomyelitis, which is spread mainly through the fecal-oral route, is a highly infectious virus that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis. Cases of polio have declined by 99% worldwide since 1988 thanks to mass vaccination campaigns and efforts continue to eradicate it completely.

Israel's military said on Sunday it would start offering the polio vaccine to soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip after remnants of the virus were found in test samples in the enclave.

Besides polio, the UN reported last week a widespread increase in cases of Hepatitis A, dysentery and gastroenteritis as sanitary conditions deteriorate in Gaza, with sewage spilling into the streets near some camps for displaced people.