Egypt: Abbas Kamel Sworn In As General Intelligence Chief

Major General Abbas Kamel took the constitutional oath before President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi as the new Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate on Thursday. (Press photo/ Egyptian Presidency)
Major General Abbas Kamel took the constitutional oath before President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi as the new Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate on Thursday. (Press photo/ Egyptian Presidency)
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Egypt: Abbas Kamel Sworn In As General Intelligence Chief

Major General Abbas Kamel took the constitutional oath before President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi as the new Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate on Thursday. (Press photo/ Egyptian Presidency)
Major General Abbas Kamel took the constitutional oath before President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi as the new Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate on Thursday. (Press photo/ Egyptian Presidency)

Major General Abbas Kamel took the constitutional oath before President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi as the new Director of the General Intelligence Directorate on Thursday. Nasser Fahmi was sworn in as deputy head of the apparatus.

In January, Sisi designated Kamel to run the general intelligence service after the dismissal of General Khalid Fawzi.

The General Intelligence is the highest intelligence apparatus in the country and directly reports to the Egyptian presidency. The intelligence headquarters is located in the suburb of Hadayek al-Qubba, east of Cairo.

Kamel was the director of Sisi’s office and his assistant during his tenure as director of the Military Intelligence Directorate. He also served as Sisi’s office manager when the latter assumed the position of defense minister under former President Mohamed Morsi.

Following the swearing-in ceremony, Sisi met with the newly appointed intelligence chief and his deputy, according to a statement issued by the presidential spokesperson, Bassam Radi.

The president underlined the necessity to maintain intelligence efforts to protect Egypt’s security against all dangers and praised the work to preserve national security amid regional instability, according to Radi.

Egypt’s General Intelligence apparatus was established in 1954, upon a decision by former President Jamal Abdel Nasser. The institution played an important role during Egypt’s modern history.

It is an independent organ that directly reports to the Egyptian presidency, consisting of a president with the rank of minister, a vice-president with the rank of deputy minister, and a number of assistants and other employees.

Among the most important files addressed by the Egyptian intelligence service during the eighties of the last century were issues related to combating terrorism and chasing members of armed groups with a religious orientation, such as Al Qaeda.

During that period, the Egyptian intelligence built close relations with many of the world’s leading intelligence services.



Baku Seeking to Diffuse Tensions between Israel, Türkiye in Syria

Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
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Baku Seeking to Diffuse Tensions between Israel, Türkiye in Syria

Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)

With growing influence after its recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian separatists in 2023, Azerbaijan is using its close ties with Israel and Türkiye to defuse tensions between the regional foes in Syria.

Azerbaijan’s top foreign policy adviser Hikmet Hajiyev told AFP that Baku has hosted more than three rounds of talks between Türkiye and Israel, who are both operating in Syria to reduce what they see as security threats.

“Azerbaijan is making diplomatic efforts for an agreement,” Hajiyev told Turkish journalists in Baku on a visit organized by the Istanbul-based Global Journalism Council. “Both Türkiye and Israel trust us.”

The overthrow of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad sparked security concerns in Israel.

It has since staged hundreds of strikes deep inside Syria, the latest on Friday, to allegedly stop advanced weapons falling into the hands of Syria’s extremists and to protect the Druze minority.

Israel has accused Ankara of seeking to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate, raising fears of a confrontation.

In Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev is considered a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He has consistently aligned himself with Ankara’s positions on key international matters, including the Syrian issue.

Azerbaijan also enjoys good relations with Israel, which is very reliant on Azerbaijani oil, and is a major arms supplier to Baku.

And now Baku, which has established contacts with Syria’s new rulers, is pushing quiet diplomacy by facilitating technical talks between Türkiye and Israel.

“We are successful if the two parties agree on a common model that respects each other’s concerns,” Farid Shafiyev, chairman of the Baku-based Center for Analysis of International Relations, told AFP.

“Syria, and especially its northern territories, is the Turkish security concern,” he said.

Türkiye wants to control northern Syria but also to “have a stronger presence” around the Palmyra and T4 airbases to ensure security around Damascus, he added.

In facilitating Türkiye-Israel dialogue on Syria, Azerbaijan is playing a “strategic role,” said Zaur Mammadov, chairman of Baku Political Scientists Club.

“(It) reflects Azerbaijan’s growing influence as a mediator... among regional actors,” he said.

Azerbaijan fought two wars with arch-foe Armenia for control of the disputed Karabakh region -- one in the 1990s and another in 2020 -- before it managed to seize the entire area in a 24-hour offensive in September 2023.