Egyptian President, German FM Discuss Cooperation, Regional Issues

 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi holding talks with German Foreign Minister in Cairo on Saturday, February 12, 2022. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi holding talks with German Foreign Minister in Cairo on Saturday, February 12, 2022. (Egyptian Presidency)
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Egyptian President, German FM Discuss Cooperation, Regional Issues

 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi holding talks with German Foreign Minister in Cairo on Saturday, February 12, 2022. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi holding talks with German Foreign Minister in Cairo on Saturday, February 12, 2022. (Egyptian Presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi on Saturday held talks with visiting German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional issues.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and German ambassador to Cairo Frank Hartmann also attended the meeting.

Baerbock commended Egypt’s role in providing humanitarian and relief aid to millions of refugees, integrating them into the society and offering them all their basic rights.

She further hailed its success in consolidating the principles of freedom of worship, religious tolerance and acceptance of the other.

Presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said Sisi underlined the importance Egypt attaches to its close ties with Germany, and efforts to bolster bilateral cooperation and mutual interests in various fields.

"Cairo looks forward to continue this cooperation based on mutual respect and balanced partnership," Rady quoted Sisi as saying.

Baerbock also stressed the German government’s keenness to bolster and develop the existing partnership between the two countries at various levels.

The two leaders also agreed to join efforts to implement the decisions emanating from the Berlin Conference on Libya to settle the situation in the war-torn country in a comprehensive and integrated manner.



Israeli Ground Troops in Lebanon Reach the Litani River

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Al-Khiam, as seen from northern Israel, 26 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Al-Khiam, as seen from northern Israel, 26 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Israeli Ground Troops in Lebanon Reach the Litani River

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Al-Khiam, as seen from northern Israel, 26 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Al-Khiam, as seen from northern Israel, 26 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

The Israeli military says its ground troops have reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River — a focal point of the emerging ceasefire.

In a statement Tuesday, the army said it had reached the Wadi Slouqi area in southern Lebanon and clashed with Hezbollah forces.

Under a proposed ceasefire, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the Israeli border.

The military says the clashes with Hezbollah took place on the eastern end of the Litani, just a few kilometers (miles) from the border. It is one of the deepest places Israeli forces have reached in a nearly two-month ground operation.

The military says soldiers destroyed rocket launchers and missiles and engaged in “close-quarters combat” with Hezbollah forces.

The announcement came hours before Israel’s security Cabinet is expected to approve a ceasefire that would end nearly 14 months of fighting.