Egypt Launches EDEX 2021

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Egypt International Exhibition for Military and Defense Industries "EDEX 2021" (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Egypt International Exhibition for Military and Defense Industries "EDEX 2021" (Egyptian Presidency)
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Egypt Launches EDEX 2021

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Egypt International Exhibition for Military and Defense Industries "EDEX 2021" (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Egypt International Exhibition for Military and Defense Industries "EDEX 2021" (Egyptian Presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated the Egypt International Exhibition for Military and Defense Industries "EDEX 2021," with more than 400 exhibiting companies from 42 countries and in the presence of 40 defense ministers and military leaders.

Sisi toured the exhibition's pavilions, welcoming the participants, stressing that "the attendance is huge and reflects our ability to organize, and reflects the size and strength of the participating companies."

The President listened to an explanation about the advanced equipment of the Egyptian military engineers, designed in cooperation between the Military Technical College and the Department of Technical Research and Development at the Military Production Factories, as part of the strategy to develop the electronic systems industry.

He also visited the Armed Forces Engineering Industries Complex, which consists of 12 vehicles.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the 300 Military Factory reviewed some of the factory's weaponry products, including the "Egyptian multi-purpose machine gun."

He also witnessed a presentation of the first Egyptian-made drone, produced by the Arab Organization for Industrialization.

Egypt's Minister of Defense and Military Production, Mohamed Zaki, said that EDEX aims to create a distinguished military gathering where experience exchange is made possible.

He affirmed that the Egyptian Army is the nation's shield in the face of conflicts disrupting the world, noting that Egypt's pursuit of power aims to preserve its security and safety in a world driven by conflicts.

Lieutenant-General Zaki expressed his aspiration that the exhibition would be a platform for exchanging experiences, ideas, and visions.

EDEX 2021 kicked off on Monday at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in New Cairo. It continues until December 2 .

The exhibition is the largest defense event in Egypt and Africa and is considered the first international defense exhibition in Egypt. It presents the latest technologies of air, land, and sea weapons.

The first edition of the exhibition was held in 2018. It was scheduled to be held every two years, but it was postponed following the global outbreak of the coronavirus.

More than 400 exhibitors from 42 countries took part in this year’s exhibition to display the latest technologies in defense and armaments.

Official delegations of dignitaries from 45 countries, military delegations, and more than 30,000 visitors have also participated in the exhibition.



Cyprus Says Syria Will Take Back Citizens Trying to Reach the Mediterranean Island by Boat

Migrants stand behind a fence inside a refugee camp in Kokkinotrimithia outside of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (AP)
Migrants stand behind a fence inside a refugee camp in Kokkinotrimithia outside of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (AP)
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Cyprus Says Syria Will Take Back Citizens Trying to Reach the Mediterranean Island by Boat

Migrants stand behind a fence inside a refugee camp in Kokkinotrimithia outside of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (AP)
Migrants stand behind a fence inside a refugee camp in Kokkinotrimithia outside of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (AP)

Syria has agreed to take back any of its citizens intercepted trying to reach Cyprus by boat, the Mediterranean island nation's deputy minister for migration said Monday.

Nicholas Ioannides says two inflatable boats, each carrying 30 Syrians, were already turned back in recent days in line with a bilateral search and rescue agreement that Cyprus and Syria now have in place.

Officials didn't share further details about the agreement.

Cypriot navy and police patrol boats intercepted the two vessels on May 9th and 10th after they put out a call for help. They were outside Cypriot territorial waters but within the island's search and rescue area of responsibility, a government statement said. They were subsequently escorted back to a port in the Syrian city of Tartus.

Ioannides told private TV station Antenna there’s been an uptick of boatloads of migrants trying to reach Cyprus from Syria, unlike in recent years when vessels would primarily depart from Lebanon. Cyprus and Lebanon have a long-standing agreement to send back migrants.

He said Cypriot authorities and their Syrian counterparts are trying to fight back against human traffickers who are supplying an underground market for laborers.

According to Ioannides, traffickers apparently cut deals with local employers to bring in Syrian laborers who pick up work right away, despite laws that prevent asylum-seekers from working before the completion of a nine-month residency period.

“The message we’re sending is that the Cyprus Republic won’t tolerate the abuse of the asylum system from people who aren’t eligible for either asylum or international protection and just come here only to work,” Ioannides said.

The bilateral agreement is compounded by the Cypriot government’s decision last week not to automatically grant asylum to Syrian migrants, but to examine their applications individually on merit and according to international and European laws.

From a total of 19,000 pending asylum applications, 13,000 have been filed by Syrian nationals, according to figures quoted by Ioannides.

Since Assad was toppled in December last year and a new transitional government took power, some 2,300 Syrians have either dropped their asylum claims or rescinded their international protection status, while 2,100 have already departed Cyprus for Syria.

Both the United Nations refugee agency and Europe’s top human rights body have urged the Cyprus government to stop pushing back migrants trying to reach the island by boat. Cyprus strongly denies it’s committing any pushbacks according to its definition.