Egypt, Qatar Optimistic about Developing Ties

The meeting of the Egyptian delegation and its Qatari counterpart in the presence of the foreign ministers of the two countries in Doha yesterday (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
The meeting of the Egyptian delegation and its Qatari counterpart in the presence of the foreign ministers of the two countries in Doha yesterday (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egypt, Qatar Optimistic about Developing Ties

The meeting of the Egyptian delegation and its Qatari counterpart in the presence of the foreign ministers of the two countries in Doha yesterday (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
The meeting of the Egyptian delegation and its Qatari counterpart in the presence of the foreign ministers of the two countries in Doha yesterday (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani expressed satisfaction with the positive developments in Egyptian-Qatari relations following the signing of the AlUla Statement on 5 January in Saudi Arabia.

Shoukry traveled Sunday to Doha to deliver a message from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The Egyptian minister will take part during his visit in the consultative meeting of Arab foreign ministers, which will be held at the invitation of Qatar on Tuesday.

His visit comes a few weeks after his Qatari counterpart led a delegation on a visit to Cairo, during which he met Sisi and delivered an official invitation to visit Qatar.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said in a statement that they both agreed on the importance of taking the necessary steps to build on previous achievements.

This would occur by reactivating the various bilateral cooperation frameworks and continuing to hold the existing follow-up mechanisms. It would take place as part of efforts to settle all outstanding issues between the two countries during the coming period.

It was also agreed to advance aspects of bilateral cooperation in priority sectors to achieve the interests of the two countries and brotherly peoples.

Hafez added that the meeting dealt with the most prominent current challenges facing the Arab countries and the regional arena.

The consultative Arab League meeting scheduled for Tuesday was also discussed, which will address the major regional issues and ways to deal with external interventions harmful to Arab national security.

The talks also dealt with the visions and positions of the two countries on issues of common concern at the regional and international levels.



Hezbollah Chief Pledges to Coordinate with Lebanese Army to Implement Truce

A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)
A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)
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Hezbollah Chief Pledges to Coordinate with Lebanese Army to Implement Truce

A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)
A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)

The head of Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem, pledged on Friday to coordinate closely with the Lebanese army to implement a ceasefire deal with Israel, which he said his group had agreed to "with heads held high".

It was his first address since a ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday after more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel that decimated swathes of Lebanon and killed 4,000 people including hundreds of women and children.

Qassem said Hezbollah had "approved the deal, with the resistance strong in the battlefield, and our heads held high with our right to defend (ourselves)."

The ceasefire stipulates that Hezbollah will withdraw from areas south of the Litani river, which runs some 30 km (20 miles) north of the border with Israel, and that the Lebanese army will deploy troops there as Israeli ground troops withdraw.

"There will be high-level coordination between the Resistance (Hezbollah) and the Lebanese army to implement the commitments of the deal," Qassem said.

The Lebanese army has already sent additional troops to the south but is preparing a detailed deployment plan to share with Lebanon's cabinet, security sources and officials have said.

That effort has been complicated by the continuing presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese territory. The deal grants them a full 60 days to complete their withdrawal.

The Israeli military has issued restrictions on people returning to villages along Lebanon's border with Israel and has fired at people in those villages in recent days, calling those movements a violation of the truce.

Both the Lebanese army and Hezbollah have accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire in those instances, and by launching an airstrike above the Litani River on Thursday.

Qassem said the group had scored a "divine victory" against Israel even greater than that declared after the two foes last fought in 2006.

"To those that were betting that Hezbollah would be weakened, we are sorry, their bets have failed," he said.