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.



Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
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Two Million Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall, Says UN

Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters
Syrian migrants wait at the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria, after Syrian rebels announced that they ousted Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Türkiye, - Reuters

Over two million Syrians who had fled their homes during their country's war have returned since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said Thursday, ahead of a visit to Syria.

The Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011 with Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests, displaced half of the population internally or abroad.

But Assad's December 8 ouster at the hands of Islamist forces sparked hopes of return.

"Over two million Syrian refugees and displaced have returned home since December," Grandi wrote on X during a visit to neighboring Lebanon, which hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, according to official estimates, AFP reported.

It is "a sign of hope amid rising regional tensions," he said.

"This proves that we need political solutions -- not another wave of instability and displacement."

After 14 years of war, many returnees face the reality of finding their homes and property badly damaged or destroyed.

But with the recent lifting of Western sanctions on Syria, new authorities hope for international support to launch reconstruction, which the UN estimates could cost more than $400 billion.

Earlier this month, UNHCR estimated that up to 1.5 million Syrians from abroad and two million internally displaced persons may return by the end of 2025.