Sisi in Beijing to Attend 'Belt and Road Forum'

China’s President Xi Jinping (R) and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (C) walk during a welcoming ceremony in Beijing, on September 1. (AFP)
China’s President Xi Jinping (R) and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (C) walk during a welcoming ceremony in Beijing, on September 1. (AFP)
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Sisi in Beijing to Attend 'Belt and Road Forum'

China’s President Xi Jinping (R) and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (C) walk during a welcoming ceremony in Beijing, on September 1. (AFP)
China’s President Xi Jinping (R) and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (C) walk during a welcoming ceremony in Beijing, on September 1. (AFP)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has started an official visit to the Chinese capital to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which is held on April 25-27, with the participation of 37 heads of state and government.

Ambassador Bassam Radi, spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, said that Sisi’s participation in the summit “comes within the framework of Egypt’s keenness to participate in the Belt and Road initiative, as one of the pivotal partners of China, in light of the strategic importance of the Suez Canal, the key maritime corridor of world trade.”

Sisi’s visit to China is the sixth since he took office in 2014. According to a statement issued by Radi, the president will hold a summit with his Chinese counterpart to discuss ways to strengthen strategic partnership.

The Egyptian president is also scheduled to hold meetings with a number of officials and the Chinese business community to discuss ways of boosting economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two sides.

On the sidelines of the summit, the president will meet with a number of heads of state and government to discuss ways of boosting bilateral cooperation on various regional and international issues.



Syria and Neighbors Urge Israel to Stop Bombings

Israeli Merkava tanks in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 08 May 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Merkava tanks in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 08 May 2025. (EPA)
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Syria and Neighbors Urge Israel to Stop Bombings

Israeli Merkava tanks in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 08 May 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Merkava tanks in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 08 May 2025. (EPA)

The foreign ministers of Syria, Türkiye and Jordan, meeting Monday in Ankara, called on Israel to cease attacks on Syria and to withdraw troops from the country.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria since longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December, often targeting military sites and killing dozens of people.

Israeli officials have also described Syria's new authorities as extremists and claimed to defend the country's Druze minority with a recent spate of attacks.

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a press conference with his Jordanian and Syrian counterparts that "Israel's expansionism poses a significant threat to the security, stability and future of Syria."

"This must come to an end. And we are on the same page about this. Syria needs to be supported to prevent terrorist organizations from settling in this region," Fidan added, noting that Syria shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Türkiye.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told the joint press conference that "our borders are constantly violated by Israeli attacks".

The Israeli strikes are "calculated escalations aimed at destabilizing Syria and dragging the region into a new cycle of conflict", Shaibani said, decrying "systematic violations of international law and explicit provocations".

He called on the international community to put Israel under "increased pressure" to halt the bombings.

Jordan's top diplomat, Ayman Safadi, said attacks on Syrian soil "will not bring security to Israel and will bring nothing to Syria except ruin and destruction".