Egypt Says Cooperation with African Partners a ‘Top Priority’

Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture hands over training certificates to envoys of African countries. (The official website of the Egyptian Cabinet)
Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture hands over training certificates to envoys of African countries. (The official website of the Egyptian Cabinet)
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Egypt Says Cooperation with African Partners a ‘Top Priority’

Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture hands over training certificates to envoys of African countries. (The official website of the Egyptian Cabinet)
Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture hands over training certificates to envoys of African countries. (The official website of the Egyptian Cabinet)

The Egyptian government views cooperation with African nations as a “top priority,” said Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, whose country concluded training workshops for 32 envoys from 11 African states, in addition to India, Armenia and Sri Lanka, in partnership with the World Food Program (WFP) through the Luxor Coordination Center for Sharing Knowledge.

Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Al-Sayed Al-Quseir handed over the training certificates in a ceremony on Tuesday, in the presence of Hamdi Loza, Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs, WFP Director Praveen Agrawal, and a number of African ambassadors.

Underlining the necessity of cooperation with international organizations and development partners, Al-Quseir noted that his country was implementing major agricultural projects, saying the sector was one of the most important lifelines for world economies.

Agriculture is no longer only crucial for food security, but has also become a national security factor, according to the minister.

He added: “We are pleased to train our colleagues from African countries and to present the Egyptian experience and the tremendous development that agriculture has witnessed over the past seven years...”

Al-Quseir pointed to an agreement with the World Food Program to develop the Luxor Coordination Center for Sharing Knowledge into a training platform for all African countries.

For his part, Agrawal said: “The WFP and UN agencies believe that the ambitious and the transformed agenda of 2030 of the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved without the ideas, energies, and tremendous support of the countries of the global, where we live in.”

On Monday, Madbouli met with a delegation from members of the Governance Council of the Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program.
In remarks, the Egyptian premier stressed that strengthening cooperation with Arab and African partners was a “top priority” for the government, in light of the great health, economic and social challenges facing the world.

He added that Egypt would continue to contribute to the African continent’s efforts to achieve sustainable development, and help unlock the huge potential of African cooperation through various multilateral trade agreements and economic cooperation platforms that enhance partnerships.



Netanyahu Denounces Tactical Pauses in Gaza Fighting to Get in Aid

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends the Knesset plenum vote on the ultra-Orthodox conscription to military service law, in the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, 10 June 2024. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends the Knesset plenum vote on the ultra-Orthodox conscription to military service law, in the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, 10 June 2024. (EPA)
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Netanyahu Denounces Tactical Pauses in Gaza Fighting to Get in Aid

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends the Knesset plenum vote on the ultra-Orthodox conscription to military service law, in the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, 10 June 2024. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends the Knesset plenum vote on the ultra-Orthodox conscription to military service law, in the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, 10 June 2024. (EPA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized plans announced by the military on Sunday to hold daily tactical pauses in fighting along one of the main roads into Gaza to facilitate aid delivery into the Palestinian enclave.

The military had announced the daily pauses from 0500 GMT until 1600 GMT in the area from the Kerem Shalom Crossing to the Salah al-Din Road and then northwards.

"When the prime minister heard the reports of an 11-hour humanitarian pause in the morning, he turned to his military secretary and made it clear that this was unacceptable to him," an Israeli official said.

The military clarified that normal operations would continue in Rafah, the main focus of its operation in southern Gaza, where eight soldiers were killed on Saturday.

The reaction from Netanyahu underlined political tensions over the issue of aid coming into Gaza, where international organizations have warned of a growing humanitarian crisis.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who leads one of the nationalist religious parties in Netanyahu's ruling coalition, denounced the idea of a tactical pause, saying whoever decided it was a "fool" who should lose their job.

DIVISIONS BETWEEN COALITION, ARMY

The spat was the latest in a series of clashes between members of the coalition and the military over the conduct of the war, now in its ninth month.

It came a week after centrist former general Benny Gantz quit the government, accusing Netanyahu of having no effective strategy in Gaza.

The divisions were laid bare last week in a parliamentary vote on a law on conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant voting against it in defiance of party orders, saying it was insufficient for the needs of the military.

Religious parties in the coalition have strongly opposed conscription for the ultra-Orthodox, drawing widespread anger from many Israelis, which has deepened as the war has gone on.

Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, the head of the military, said on Sunday there was a "definite need" to recruit more soldiers from the fast-growing ultra-Orthodox community.

RESERVISTS UNDER STRAIN

Despite growing international pressure for a ceasefire, an agreement to halt the fighting still appears distant, more than eight months since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas fighters on Israel triggered a ground assault on the enclave by Israeli forces.

Since the attack, which killed some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners in Israeli communities, Israel's military campaign has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health ministry figures, and destroyed much of Gaza.

Although opinion polls suggest most Israelis support the government's aim of destroying Hamas, there have been widespread protests attacking the government for not doing more to bring home around 120 hostages who are still in Gaza after being taken hostage on Oct. 7.

Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials said seven Palestinians were killed in two air strikes on two houses in Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip.

As fighting in Gaza has continued, a lower level conflict across the Israel-Lebanon border is now threatening to spiral into a wider war as near-daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia have escalated.

In a further sign that fighting in Gaza could drag on, Netanyahu's government said on Sunday it was extending until Aug. 15 the period it would fund hotels and guest houses for residents evacuated from southern Israeli border towns.