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Egypt Backs Congo as Chairman of African Union

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi receives a written message from Jean Le on Ngandu, DR Congo’s permanent representative to the African Union, in Cairo, 3 October 2021. Egyptian Presidency
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi receives a written message from Jean Le on Ngandu, DR Congo’s permanent representative to the African Union, in Cairo, 3 October 2021. Egyptian Presidency
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Egypt Backs Congo as Chairman of African Union

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi receives a written message from Jean Le on Ngandu, DR Congo’s permanent representative to the African Union, in Cairo, 3 October 2021. Egyptian Presidency
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi receives a written message from Jean Le on Ngandu, DR Congo’s permanent representative to the African Union, in Cairo, 3 October 2021. Egyptian Presidency

Egypt on Sunday backed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the current chair of the African Union (AU), and its efforts in overseeing joint African action this year.

Sisi received Sunday a letter from his Congolese counterpart Felix- Antoine Tshisekedi, current AU chairman, handed by Special envoy of the Congolese president and Permanent Representative to the AU Jean Léon Ngandu Ilunga during a meeting in Cairo, in the presence of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and the chargé d'affaires of the Congolese embassy in Egypt.

The letter conveyed the Congolese president's appreciation of Egypt's keen efforts in support of the DRC during its current chairmanship of the AU.

It also hailed the brotherly ties between the two countries, voicing an interest in pushing these ties forward.

Sisi stressed Egypt's commitment to maintain its support to DRCongo to enable it to lead joint African action as chairman of the AU for 2021.

The statement did not mention whether the two sides discussed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). It nevertheless stressed that the meeting dealt with a raft of priority issues on the AU agenda.

Sunday’s meeting came two weeks after Congo presented an initiative to solve the GERD dispute between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

Last month, DRC’s Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula visited Cairo, Khartoum and Addis Ababa for talks with leaders on ways to help find a legal solution to the dispute.

In mid-September, the UN Security Council issued a statement encouraging Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to resume negotiations, under the AU president to finalize a binding legal agreement on filling and operating the dam.

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FM: Iraq Wants Iran-backed Factions to Lay Down Weapons

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speaks during an interview in London, Britain, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Marissa Davison
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speaks during an interview in London, Britain, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Marissa Davison
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FM: Iraq Wants Iran-backed Factions to Lay Down Weapons

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speaks during an interview in London, Britain, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Marissa Davison
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein speaks during an interview in London, Britain, January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Marissa Davison

Iraq is trying to convince powerful armed factions in the country that have fought US forces and fired rockets and drones at Israel to lay down their weapons or join official security forces, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said.

The push comes with a backdrop of seismic shifts in the Middle East that have seen Iran's armed allies in Gaza and Lebanon heavily degraded and Syria's government overthrown.

The incoming US Trump administration promises to pile more pressure on Tehran, which has long backed a number of political parties and an array of armed factions in Iraq.

Some Baghdad officials are concerned the status quo there may be upended next, but Hussein played this down in an interview with Reuters during an official visit to London.

"We don't think that Iraq is the next," Hussein said.

The government was in talks to rein in the groups while continuing to walk the tightrope between its ties to both Washington and Tehran, he said.
"Two or three years ago it was impossible to discuss this topic in our society," he said.

But now, having armed groups functioning outside the state was not acceptable.

"Many political leaders, many political parties started to raise a discussion, and I hope that we can convince the leaders of these groups to lay down their arms, and then to be part of the armed forces under the responsibility of the government," Hussein said.

Iraq's balancing act has been tested by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups' attacks on Israel and on US troops in the country they say are in solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war.

A promised Gaza ceasefire has the government breathing a sigh of relief, though uncertainty prevails over how the country may fare after Donald Trump becomes US president.

During the last Trump presidency, relations grew tense as he ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020, leading to an Iranian ballistic missile attack on an Iraqi base housing US forces.

"We hope that we can continue this good relationship with Washington," Hussein said. "It is too early now to talk about which policy President Trump is going to follow for Iraq or Iran."

Iraq will only be reassured about Syria when it sees an inclusive political process, Hussein said, adding Baghdad would supply the country with grain and oil once it could be assured it would go to all Syrians.
Baghdad was in talks with Syria's foreign minister over a visit to Iraq, he said.

"We are worried about the ISIS, so we are in contact with the Syrian side to talk about these things, but at the end to have a stable Syria means to have the representative of all components in the political process."

Baghdad and Washington last year agreed to end the US-led coalition's work by September 2026 and transition to bilateral military ties, but Hussein said that the developments in Syria would have to be watched.

"In the first place, we are thinking about security of Iraq and stability in Iraq. If there will be a threat to our country, of course it will be a different story," he said.