Dbeibeh Discusses Libyan Political Crisis with Egyptian Officials

The Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry during her meeting in Cairo with the Libyan Ministers of Transportation and Economy, Mohamed al-Shoubi and Mohamed al-Hawij (Libyan Ministry of Economy and Trade)
The Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry during her meeting in Cairo with the Libyan Ministers of Transportation and Economy, Mohamed al-Shoubi and Mohamed al-Hawij (Libyan Ministry of Economy and Trade)
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Dbeibeh Discusses Libyan Political Crisis with Egyptian Officials

The Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry during her meeting in Cairo with the Libyan Ministers of Transportation and Economy, Mohamed al-Shoubi and Mohamed al-Hawij (Libyan Ministry of Economy and Trade)
The Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry during her meeting in Cairo with the Libyan Ministers of Transportation and Economy, Mohamed al-Shoubi and Mohamed al-Hawij (Libyan Ministry of Economy and Trade)

Libya's Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh will visit Cairo to discuss the political crisis with Egyptian officials and sign several agreements in the economic and trade fields.

A Libyan ministerial delegation arrived in Cairo Tuesday, consisting of Economy Minister Mohammad al-Hawaij, Transport Minister Mohammad al-Shhoubi, Housing and Construction Minister Abu Bakr al-Ghawi, and a number of officials.

Hawaij chaired the ministerial delegation of the unity government, ahead of the meetings of the Libyan-Egyptian Joint Higher Committee scheduled for Thursday.

The committee's meeting will be chaired by the Libyan PM and his Egyptian counterpart Mostafa Madbouly, which comes within the framework of boosting bilateral relations, increasing trade exchange, and concluding agreements in several areas of common interest.

The Libyan and Egyptian governments had previously signed 11 agreements to enhance cooperation in several areas during Madbouly's visit to Tripoli in April at the head of a large ministerial delegation.

The two sides signed several memoranda of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in road and infrastructure projects, transportation, and health, and in addition to investments in the electricity sector.

In September 2020, Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation Rania al-Mashat received Hawaij to discuss the ongoing preparations for the meetings of the eleventh session of the Egyptian-Libyan Supreme Committee.

The Libyan-Egyptian Joint Ministerial Committee held its second Cairo meeting on September 10. The panel discussed issues of the Egyptian workers, and the date they will be allowed to return in addition to their integration into the Libyan labor market.

The Libyan Ministry of Labor and Rehabilitation said in a previous statement that the joint meeting, which was held at the office of the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower in Cairo, discussed the issue of Egyptian workers in Libya and the mechanism for their entry under the supervision of the Libyan Ministry of Labor provided that it is done during the current year.



Egypt Strengthens Cooperation with Africa to Tackle Water Challenges

Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
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Egypt Strengthens Cooperation with Africa to Tackle Water Challenges

Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)

Egypt is continuing to strengthen its cooperation with African nations to confront the pressing challenges of water and food security.

“Water issues are a shared challenge that grows more severe due to climate change and resource scarcity, especially given Egypt’s near-total dependence on Nile water,” Egyptian Minister of Irrigation Hani Sewilam said, according to an official statement by the Egyptian Cabinet on Friday.

Speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister during a celebration at the Djibouti Embassy in Cairo marking Djibouti’s 48th independence anniversary, Sewilam emphasized that cross-border cooperation, rooted in principles of international law, is the optimal path to ensure sustainable water resources.

Egypt frequently raises the issue of water security, particularly amid the ongoing crisis over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia has built on the main tributary of the Nile since 2011 to generate electricity. Egypt and Sudan fear it will impact their water shares.

Ambassador Salah Halima, former Assistant Foreign Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Egyptian Council for African Affairs, stressed that water security is closely linked to river management and dam operations. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt consistently underscores the importance of respecting international laws and agreements on managing water resources and criticized Ethiopia’s unilateral actions to impose a de facto situation regarding the dam.

Halima added that achieving water security requires cooperation among states in managing water resources and constructing dams, noting that Egypt has valuable experience African nations can benefit from.

Egypt faces a water deficit estimated at 30 billion cubic meters annually. Its share of Nile water amounts to 55.5 billion cubic meters per year, while consumption exceeds 85 billion cubic meters. The shortfall is covered by groundwater extraction, seawater desalination projects, and recycling agricultural drainage water, according to the Ministry of Irrigation.

On Friday, Sewilam highlighted the longstanding ties between Egypt and Djibouti as an example of cooperation amid complex regional and global challenges requiring greater unity and shared vision. He noted that the regional and international context demands an understanding of the magnitude of challenges, ranging from security and peace to sustainable development and socio-economic stability, especially in the Arab and African regions.

Egypt is finalizing a memorandum of understanding with Djibouti’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to cooperate in fields such as integrated water resources management, desalination technologies, groundwater recharge, capacity building, knowledge exchange, and joint research.

In parallel, Egyptian Minister of Agriculture Alaa Farouk reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to working with African countries to develop more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable agricultural value chains. Speaking during FAO meetings in Rome, he said that strengthening these chains is central to food security, economic growth, and job creation, particularly in rural areas. Farouk also discussed promoting Egyptian investment in Africa to boost agricultural development and food security across the continent.