Sisi’s Calls For Dialogue Receive Wide Welcome In Egypt

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting held Thursday with newspaper editors and talk show hosts (Egyptian Presidency)
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting held Thursday with newspaper editors and talk show hosts (Egyptian Presidency)
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Sisi’s Calls For Dialogue Receive Wide Welcome In Egypt

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting held Thursday with newspaper editors and talk show hosts (Egyptian Presidency)
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting held Thursday with newspaper editors and talk show hosts (Egyptian Presidency)

Political and media circles in Egypt welcomed Friday President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s call for a political dialogue among the country’s political forces.

At a meeting held a day earlier with journalists and talk show hosts, the Egyptian President said his country needs a comprehensive political dialogue compatible with the notion of building or launching the new republic.

Journalist Emad El-Din Hussein, editor-in-chief of Al-Shorouk newspaper, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Sisi’s invitation for dialogue reveals that the Egyptian state is now consolidated and strong and that any future development requires cooperation between the country’s forces at several levels, including the need to hold a political dialogue.

Hussein, who attended the meeting with the president, said Sisi’s speech also aims to tackle a new and different future for Egypt through holding a joint dialogue between parties, civil society, and political forces within the framework of the new republic.

Also, Atef Maghawry, a member of the Egyptian Parliament and vice president of the Democratic Gathering, welcomed the President’s speech.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Sisi’s invitation for dialogue is considered the foundation of the new republic and its achievements.

“If this new republic is not protected by political dialogue, it will be threatened in the future,” he said, adding that any economic and social achievements must be protected by a strong political structure based on the participation of all parties.

For his part, Dr. Abdel Moneim Saeed, a political analyst and a member of the Senate, said he was surprised by Sisi’s call for political dialogue.

Speaking with Asharq Al-Awsat, he said the Egyptian President had always paid attention to the file of economic reform.

According to Saeed, Sisi had not raised the issue of political dialogue, although the president previously referred to it when speaking about his hopes to hold an open discussion on education, health, culture, and political issues.

“What is new this time is that Sisi mentioned the word political dialogue and linked it to the new republic,” Saeed stressed.

Two days ago, IMF managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that she sees conditions for the Egyptian economy worsening.

According to Hussein, Sisi’s call for dialogue is not the result of political pressure or an economic crisis, as some claim.

He said Egypt was never forced to implement the demands of external forces.

“The Egyptian State is now more stable on the security and social levels and despite difficult economic conditions, Cairo is implementing a strong economic reform plan capable of facing all difficulties,” he stressed.

For his part, Saeed said that any political dialogue in Egypt has two parts: The first is related to the need of passing and reviewing several laws, especially regarding equality, discrimination, and personal status issues.

As for the second part, he said it is related to political openness, freedom of expression, and the principles of transparency and accountability.

“There is a need for the country’s political forces to turn words into actions and to set an agenda and rules for political dialogue, and bases for discussion,” he said.



Iraq Preoccupied with Potential Broad Israeli Attack

Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
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Iraq Preoccupied with Potential Broad Israeli Attack

Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shi al-Sudani at an emergency national security council meeting. (Iraqi government)

Baghdad has been preoccupied this week with serious possibilities that Israel may expand its war on Gaza and Lebanon by striking several targets in Iraq in retaliation to attacks by Iran-backed armed factions.

Concern has been high that Israel may attack government buildings, oil fields and strategic locations, not just the positions of the armed factions that have previously launched attacks against Israel, said sources close to the pro-Iran ruling Coordination Framework.

Media sources have spoken of government speculation that Iraq could come under “300 Israeli attacks”.

The fears in Iraq have been compounded by an Israeli complaint to the United Nations Security Council against seven armed factions and holding Baghdad responsible for the attacks they have carried out against it.

This prompted the government, through the foreign ministry, to send an official letter to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General, Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation in response to the Israeli threats.

The ministry said on Saturday that Iraq is “the cornerstone of stability in the region and world and it is one of the countries that are most committed to the UN Charter.”

“The Zionist entity’s letter to the Security Council is part of a systematic policy aimed at creating claims and excuses in an attempt to expand the conflict in the region.”

It said Iraq has turned to the Security Council out of Iraq’s keenness on the international body carrying out its duty in maintaining international peace and security and the need to rein in the “Zionist aggression in Gaza and Lebanon.”

Moreover, it stressed that Iraq has been keen on exercising restraint when it comes to the use of its airspace to attack a neighboring country.

Israel has used Iraqi airspace to launch attacks against Iran in October.

Iraq underscored the importance of the international community stepping in to “stop this hostile behavior that is a flagrant violation of international law.”

It called for international efforts to stop the Israeli escalation in the region and ensure that international laws and treaties are respected to consolidate security and stability.

Meanwhile, a source close to the Coordination Framework said the main Shiite parties are taking the Israeli threats “very seriously”, urging Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's government to take “all the necessary measures to avert a potential Israeli strike.”

All leaders of armed factions, as well as Shiite leaders, have taken up alternative locations and are moving under great secrecy, confirming that they have changed the majority of their military positions, said the source.

It also dismissed claims that Israeli jets have overflown Iraq, saying nothing has been confirmed, but not ruling out the possibility, especially since US forces have control over Iraqi skies and Iraq is helpless against stopping these violations.

Iraq had submitted a formal complaint to the UN and Security Council over Israel’s use and violation of its airspace to attack Iran.

Analyst and former diplomat Ghazi Faisal said the pro-Iran armed factions have been gathering their forces in the Sinjar province, which is strategic for Iran’s arms deliveries and logistic support to Syria where attacks can be carried out against American forces and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Sinjar is one of the most important strategic bases for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, he added.

Furthermore, he noted that the armed factions insist on continuing the war against Israel, rejecting government calls for calm and neutrality.

The government’s statements are aimed at delivering a message that it “is not directly responsible for the strategy of these factions,” which follow Iran’s policies.

Iraq has repeatedly said that it refuses for its territory to be used to attack another country, but some observers believe that it may allow Iran to do so should Israel strike.