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Egypt to Receive More AstraZeneca, Pfizer Doses

Egyptians get tested for Covid-19 at a drive-through coronavirus-testing center in Cairo. (AFP file photo)
Egyptians get tested for Covid-19 at a drive-through coronavirus-testing center in Cairo. (AFP file photo)
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Egypt to Receive More AstraZeneca, Pfizer Doses

Egyptians get tested for Covid-19 at a drive-through coronavirus-testing center in Cairo. (AFP file photo)
Egyptians get tested for Covid-19 at a drive-through coronavirus-testing center in Cairo. (AFP file photo)

Egypt announced on Monday it expects to receive new doses of the Pfizer, AstraZenca and Johnson & Johnson vaccine, stressing the role the inoculation drive plays in curbing daily COVID-19 infections.

The Ministry of Health confirmed that the second dose of the vaccine is safe for all residents who received the first jab.

Egypt has in recent weeks witnessed a significant decline in coronavirus infections.

On Monday, the country recorded 117 new cases, bringing the total to 283,102. The Health Ministry announced 13 new deaths, raising the total to 16,396 nationwide.

Meanwhile, Health and Population Minister Hala Zayed said Monday that Egypt agreed to join the Treaty for the Establishment of the African Medicines Agency (AMA), which aims to localize the manufacture of medicines and vaccines across Africa.

The announcement came during a press conference in the presence of representative of the African Union for the AMA, Michel Sidibe and head of the health division at the African Union Commission, Dr. Margaret Agama.

“Egypt will work through the AMA to serve the African people, and supply them with medicines and vaccines that are produced locally in Egypt, after achieving local sufficiency and according to the signed agreements,” Zayed said.

For his part, Sidibe praised Egypt’s efforts to locally manufacture medicines and vaccines. “Countries that are incapable of securing vaccine doses, would be unable to protect their people,” he stressed.

Sidibe said 15 million out of Africa’s 1.3 billion people have been already inoculated against the virus.

Meanwhile, Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said Egypt will receive 2 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine by the end of the week, in addition to raw materials sufficient to produce 10 million Sinovac doses.

He confirmed that the coming days should witness an expansion of the vaccination drive after Egypt receives a large quantity of doses.

Presidential Adviser for Health Affairs Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din said Egypt is on its way to gradually receive 25 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines from the African Union.

In an interview with a local channel, he confirmed that Egypt has not yet recorded any case of the Delta variant, adding that his country is dealing firmly with the pandemic to prevent a fourth wave.

In a related development, Advisor to the Ministry of Health for Research Dr. Noha Assem confirmed that Egypt is heading towards self-sufficiency in vaccines, adding that the country should meet all local needs by August.

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Arab World

Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown

Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown

Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said the group is open to serious negotiations with the government based in Port Sudan to end the country’s devastating conflict, now in its third year, provided there is genuine political will from the other side.

The remarks by Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, who is also a member of the RSF’s negotiating team, come as international actors prepare to meet in Brussels on Thursday in a bid to lay the groundwork for a ceasefire.

The talks are expected to include the European Union, African Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain.

“Negotiations could begin with confidence-building measures and credible arrangements,” Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Dialogue remains the best path to ending a war that has no winners, only losers, both the people and the nation.”

He said the RSF is ready to discuss the location, timing, and possible mediators for peace talks, but stressed that any engagement must be met with equal seriousness by Sudan’s military-backed government.

However, Al-Safi cautioned that his group would not accept talks that merely allow the opposing side to regroup and secure external support to resume fighting.

“We cannot enter into a dialogue that gives the other party time to reorganize and rearm,” he said, adding that the RSF remains “at its strongest” on the battlefield.

Sudan’s army has conditioned any peace negotiations on the implementation of the Jeddah Declaration, a humanitarian agreement signed in May 2023. The deal, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States, has since been marred by mutual accusations of violations from both the military and the RSF.

Meanwhile, the RSF is pushing ahead with plans to form a rival administration in areas under its control.

Al-Safi, a senior adviser to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said the group is nearing the formation of what he called a “government of unity and peace.”

He added that over 90% of the preparations for the announcement have been completed.

“The delay in announcing the government is due to ongoing consultations among members of the Founding Sudan Alliance [Tasis], which supports this move,” Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat. “It’s not because of internal disagreements, as some have suggested.”

Asked about the planned capital of the parallel government, Al-Safi declined to name the city but suggested it would not be Khartoum.

“There are cities more beautiful than Khartoum,” he said. “From a strategic perspective, I believe the capital should be temporary and capable of accommodating all institutions of government.”

He only noted that the proposed city is located in territory controlled by the Tasis alliance.

The RSF’s moves come amid growing fears that the fragmentation of Sudan will deepen if parallel authorities are entrenched, further complicating efforts to reach a comprehensive peace.