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Cairo, Jakarta Agree to Bolster Economic, Development Cooperation

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during his meeting with the Indonesian Minister of Finance. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during his meeting with the Indonesian Minister of Finance. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Cairo, Jakarta Agree to Bolster Economic, Development Cooperation

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during his meeting with the Indonesian Minister of Finance. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during his meeting with the Indonesian Minister of Finance. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo held talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Jakarta on Friday.

Both sides agreed to bolster bilateral economic and development cooperation and discussed several topics of mutual interest.

A cabinet statement on Friday revealed that Shoukry handed Widodo a letter from President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi tackling all means of bilateral cooperation between the two countries and ways to enhance them.

Sisi also briefed Widodo about the ongoing preparations to host the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference 2022 in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

Shoukry said Egypt looks forward to give more impetus to all aspects of bilateral ties, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez.

He underlined the importance of continued consultations to coordinate positions in line with the aspirations of the two friendly peoples.

Shoukry arrived in Jakarta as part of an Asian tour he kicked off last week which included Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

He will next visit Pakistan to participate in the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that will be held in Islamabad on March 22.

Hafez said Shoukry also met Friday with Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and discussed with him aspects of promoting economic ties and exploring cooperation opportunities in various development fields.

He later signed a memorandum of understanding with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi to establish an Indonesian-Egyptian joint committee.

Shoukry signed another MoU with Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar to cooperate in the field of protecting the environment and sustainable development.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.