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Egypt, Sudan Discuss Joint Cooperation to Face Pandemic, Supply Vaccines

A man receives a dose of the China's Sinopharm vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a mass immunization venue inside Cairo's International Exhibition Center in Cairo, Egypt June 5, 2021. Reuters
A man receives a dose of the China's Sinopharm vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a mass immunization venue inside Cairo's International Exhibition Center in Cairo, Egypt June 5, 2021. Reuters
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Egypt, Sudan Discuss Joint Cooperation to Face Pandemic, Supply Vaccines

A man receives a dose of the China's Sinopharm vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a mass immunization venue inside Cairo's International Exhibition Center in Cairo, Egypt June 5, 2021. Reuters
A man receives a dose of the China's Sinopharm vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a mass immunization venue inside Cairo's International Exhibition Center in Cairo, Egypt June 5, 2021. Reuters

Egypt and Sudan discussed on Wednesday enhancing joint cooperation to face the spread of the coronavirus and to supply COVID-19 vaccines, which Cairo has started manufacturing locally.

At a meeting with Sudanese Health Minister Omar Naguib in Cairo, Egyptian Health and Population Minister Hala Zayed stressed President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s keenness to offer medical support to Sudan for enhancing its health care system.

Zayed and Naguib discussed enhancing joint cooperation in Sudan's health sector to fight infections and epidemics, and also at the level of professional medical education and the localization of the pharmaceutical industry.

Egyptian Health Ministry Spokesman Khaled Megahed said that the two ministers also discussed implementing in Sudan an initiative made by Sisi on treating one million Africans from Hepatitis C.

He said Zayed noted that an Egyptian delegation to Sudan have completed equipping five centers there for implementing the initiative as well as training for health staff on diagnosis protocols.

According to Megahed, the Egyptian Minister noted that Cairo already dispatched to Khartoum PCR testing for the Hepatitis C and drug doses sufficient for an average of 250,000 Sudanese.

In addition, Zayed advised the transfer of medical oxygen to the Sudanese Health Ministry.

The two sides also agreed to revive the joint project aimed at combating the malaria-bearing Gambia mosquito.

The Egyptian minister expressed her country’s readiness to welcome additional people who were injured during the Sudanese Revolution 2018-2019 to help them complete their treatment in Egyptian hospitals.

For his part, the Sudanese minister thanked Sisi for his support to the health sector in Sudan especially for fighting the coronavirus.

He acclaimed Cairo for producing the first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine and lauded Egypt’s efforts to provide doses for sisterly countries, after meeting its local needs.

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Türkiye Will Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ If Syria Govt Cannot Address Kurd Militia Issue, FM Says

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference following a meeting of foreign Ministers on developments in Syria in Aqaba, Jordan, 14 December 2024. (EPA)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference following a meeting of foreign Ministers on developments in Syria in Aqaba, Jordan, 14 December 2024. (EPA)
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Türkiye Will Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ If Syria Govt Cannot Address Kurd Militia Issue, FM Says

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference following a meeting of foreign Ministers on developments in Syria in Aqaba, Jordan, 14 December 2024. (EPA)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference following a meeting of foreign Ministers on developments in Syria in Aqaba, Jordan, 14 December 2024. (EPA)

Türkiye will do "whatever it takes" to ensure its security if the new Syrian administration cannot address Ankara's concerns about US-allied Kurdish groups it views as terrorist groups, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday.

Türkiye regards the YPG, the militant group spearheading the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington, and the European Union.

Hostilities have escalated since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad less than two weeks ago, with Türkiye and Syrian groups it backs seizing the city of Manbij from the SDF on Dec. 9. Assad's fall has left the Kurdish factions on the back foot as they seek to retain political gains made in the last 13 years.

In an interview with France 24, Fidan said Ankara's preferred option was for the new administration in Damascus to address the problem in line with Syria's territorial unity, sovereignty, and integrity, adding that the YPG should be disbanded immediately.

"If it doesn't happen, we have to protect our own national security," he said. When asked if that included military action, Fidan said: "Whatever it takes."

Asked about SDF commander Mazloum Abdi's comments about the possibility of a negotiated solution with Ankara, Fidan said the group should seek such a settlement with Damascus, as there was "a new reality" there now.

"The new reality, hopefully, they will address these issues, but at the same time, (the) YPG/PKK, they know what we want. We don't want to see any form of military threat to ourselves. Not the present one, but also the potential one," he added.

Ankara, alongside Syrian allies, has mounted several cross-border offensives against the YPG-led SDF in northern Syria, while repeatedly demanding that its NATO ally Washington halt support for the fighters.

The US-backed SDF played a major role defeating ISIS militants in 2014-2017 with US air support, and still guards its fighters in prison camps. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the extremist group would try to re-establish capabilities in this period.

Fidan said he didn't find the recent uptick in US troops in Syria to be the "right decision", adding the battle against ISIS was an "excuse" to maintain support for the SDF.

"The fight against ISIS, there is only one job: to keep ISIS prisoners in prisons, that's it," he said.

Fidan also said that the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which swept into Damascus to topple Assad, had "excellent cooperation" with Ankara in the battle against ISIS and al-Qaeda in the past through intelligence sharing.

He also said Türkiye was not in favor of any foreign bases, including Russian ones, remaining in Syria, but that the choice was up to the Syrian people.