Egypt Backs Efforts to Achieve Stability in South Sudan

Egypt’s ambassador in Juba during his meeting with South Sudan’s Minister of Cabinet Affairs. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egypt’s ambassador in Juba during his meeting with South Sudan’s Minister of Cabinet Affairs. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egypt Backs Efforts to Achieve Stability in South Sudan

Egypt’s ambassador in Juba during his meeting with South Sudan’s Minister of Cabinet Affairs. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egypt’s ambassador in Juba during his meeting with South Sudan’s Minister of Cabinet Affairs. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egypt’s Ambassador to South Sudan Moataz Moustafa Abdel Kader held on Wednesday talks with South Sudan’s Minister of Cabinet Affairs Martin Elia Lomoro.

Abdel Kader said Egypt is keen to support efforts aimed at achieving peace and stability in South Sudan, as well as economic and social development and to build South Sudanese capacities.

He added that Cairo looks forward to providing all forms of support to implement the remaining agreed-upon topics in the peace agreement.

He underscored the importance of overcoming all obstacles, following up on all agreements and memoranda of understanding signed between the two countries' governments, and working to expedite their implementation.

According to a Foreign Ministry statement, the ambassador underlined the depth and strength of the brotherhood bonds that unite Presidents Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Salva Kiir Mayardit.

He said their ties have contributed to enhancing strategic relations, coordination, and consultations on regional and international issues of common interest.

He referred to the volume of university and graduate scholarships offered by the Ministry of Higher Education, in addition to many training courses in priority areas such as water resources, irrigation, agriculture, electricity, energy, health, and others.

Both countries hailed the level of ties and their recent development and agreed on the need to advance cooperation in all fields.

Lomoro, for his part, lauded the historic and fraternal relations that unite the leadership and peoples of the two countries.

He praised Cairo’s efforts to help and support the people of South Sudan in various economic, social, and development fields and sectors.

He further affirmed that Juba trusts Cairo and its role in supporting peace and stability in the country, and appreciates its commitment to helping it achieve the Sudanese people’s aspirations for peace, development and prosperity.



EU Urges Immediate Halt to Israel-Hezbollah War

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
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EU Urges Immediate Halt to Israel-Hezbollah War

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell called for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war while on a visit to Lebanon on Sunday, as the group claimed attacks deep into Israel.  

The Israeli military said Iran-backed Hezbollah fired around 160 projectiles into Israel during the day. Some of them were intercepted but others caused damage to houses in central Israel, according to AFP images.  

A day after the health ministry said Israeli strikes on Beirut and across Lebanon killed 84 people, state media reported two strikes on Sunday on the capital's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Israel's military said it had attacked "headquarters" of the group "hidden within civilian structures" in south Beirut.

War between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in late September, nearly a year after the group began launching strikes in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas following that group's October 7 attack on Israel.

The conflict has killed at least 3,754 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the health ministry, most of them since September.  

On the Israeli side, authorities say at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians have been killed.  

Earlier this week, US special envoy Amos Hochstein said in Lebanon that a truce deal was "within our grasp" and then headed to Israel for talks with officials there.  

In the Lebanese capital, Borrell held talks with parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation efforts on behalf of ally Hezbollah.

"We see only one possible way ahead: an immediate ceasefire and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701," Borrell said.  

"Lebanon is on the brink of collapse", he warned.  

Under Resolution 1701, which ended the last Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006, Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only armed forces present in the southern border area.  

The resolution also called for Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon, and reiterated earlier calls for "disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon."