Macron, Sisi Discuss Regional, Int’l Issues

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L), before their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 22 July 2022. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L), before their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 22 July 2022. (EPA)
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Macron, Sisi Discuss Regional, Int’l Issues

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L), before their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 22 July 2022. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L), before their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 22 July 2022. (EPA)

French President Emmanuel Macron received in Paris on Friday his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for official talks on a range of international and regional developments.

Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said the Egyptian-French summit tackled several regional issues, especially developments in the Palestinian Territories and efforts to revive the peace process.

Macron expressed his appreciation of Cairo’s role to that end, he added.

Sisi, for his part, stressed his country’s firm position for the need to reach a just and comprehensive solution that ensures the rights of the Palestinian people and establishes an independent state according to international resolutions.

They addressed developments in Libya and Lebanon.

Sisi said there can be no settlement to crises there without political solutions that preserve their territorial integrity and national institutions.

Macron said France was eager to intensify coordination with Egypt over affairs in the Middle East given its influential role in the region, Rady added.

France is Sisi’s third stop in a tour of Europe that had taken him to Germany and Serbia.

His talks in Paris are part of the ongoing consultations between Paris and Cairo and the close political, defense, economic, trade, cultural and scientific ties that bind them.

Sis and Macron have met five times in the past two years. Sisi visited Paris twice in 2021 to take part in conferences on Sudan, Libya and oceans.

Official sources in Paris said France is “very keen” on consulting with Egypt given the “significant” role Cairo plays in several crises. They revealed that Paris is eager to cooperate with Egypt over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Macron had received Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday. Their talks focused on reviving Palestinian-Israeli negotiations that have been suspended since 2014.

In early July, the French president welcome Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid.



Türkiye Plans First Overseas Deepwater Drilling in Somalia Next Month

Türkiye Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar speaks during the conference 'Energy Security in the World and Türkiye: Risks and Solutions in Critical Minerals' at the Sabanci University Istanbul International Center for Energy and Climate (IICEC), in Istanbul, Türkiye, December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Türkiye Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar speaks during the conference 'Energy Security in the World and Türkiye: Risks and Solutions in Critical Minerals' at the Sabanci University Istanbul International Center for Energy and Climate (IICEC), in Istanbul, Türkiye, December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
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Türkiye Plans First Overseas Deepwater Drilling in Somalia Next Month

Türkiye Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar speaks during the conference 'Energy Security in the World and Türkiye: Risks and Solutions in Critical Minerals' at the Sabanci University Istanbul International Center for Energy and Climate (IICEC), in Istanbul, Türkiye, December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Türkiye Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar speaks during the conference 'Energy Security in the World and Türkiye: Risks and Solutions in Critical Minerals' at the Sabanci University Istanbul International Center for Energy and Climate (IICEC), in Istanbul, Türkiye, December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Türkiye will send a drilling vessel to Somalia in February to carry out the country's first deepwater exploration project abroad, ‌Energy Minister ‌Alparslan Bayraktar ‌said.

He ‌said the operation with the Cagri Bey vessel will focus on offshore areas ⁠in Somali waters but did not ‍provide ‍details on targeted ‍reserves or investment size.

In 2024, Türkiye signed an energy exploration deal with Somalia. It has been ⁠seeking to diversify its energy sources and reduce reliance on imports, investing in exploration at home and overseas.


Libya Says UK to Analyze Black Box from Crash That Killed General

Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
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Libya Says UK to Analyze Black Box from Crash That Killed General

Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)

Libya said on Thursday that Britain had agreed to analyze the black box from a plane crash in Türkiye on December 23 that killed a Libyan military delegation, including the head of its army.

General Mohammed al-Haddad and four aides died after a visit to Ankara, with Turkish officials saying an electrical failure caused their Falcon 50 jet to crash shortly after takeoff.

Three crew members, two of them French, were also killed.

The aircraft's black box flight recorder was found on farmland near the crash site.

"We coordinated directly with Britain for the analysis" of the black box, Mohamed al-Chahoubi, transport minister in the Government of National Unity (GNU), said at a press conference in Tripoli.

Haddad was very popular in Libya despite deep divisions between west and east.

Haddad was chief of staff for the Tripoli-based GNU.

Chahoubi told AFP a request for the analysis was "made to Germany, which demanded France's assistance" to examine the aircraft's flight recorders.

"However, the Chicago Convention stipulates that the country analyzing the black box must be neutral," he said.

"Since France is a manufacturer of the aircraft and the crew was French, it is not qualified to participate. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, was accepted by Libya and Turkey."

After meeting the British ambassador to Tripoli on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Taher al-Baour said a joint request had been submitted by Libya and Türkiye to Britain "to obtain technical and legal support for the analysis of the black box".

Chahoubi told Thursday's press briefing that Britain "announced its agreement, in coordination with the Libyan Ministry of Transport and the Turkish authorities".

He said it was not yet possible to say how long it would take to retrieve the flight data, as this depended on the state of the black box.

"The findings will be made public once they are known," Chahoubi said, warning against "false information" and urging the public not to pay attention to rumors.


STC Says Handing over Positions to National Shield Forces in Yemen's Hadhramaut, Mahra

National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)
National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)
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STC Says Handing over Positions to National Shield Forces in Yemen's Hadhramaut, Mahra

National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)
National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)

Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces in Yemen began on Thursday handing over military positions to the government’s National Shield forces in the Hadhramaut and al-Mahra provinces in eastern Yemen.

Local sources in Hadhramaut confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the handover kicked off after meetings were held between the two sides.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said the National Shield commanders met with STC leaderships to discuss future arrangements. The sourced did not elaborate, but they confirmed that Emirati armored vehicles, which had entered Balhaf port in Shabwah were seen departing on a UAE vessel, in line with a Yemeni government request.

The National Shield is overseen by Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Chairman Dr. Rashad al-Alimi.

A Yemeni official described Thursday’s developments as “positive” step towards uniting ranks and legitimacy against a common enemy – the Houthi groups.

The official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, underscored to Asharq Al-Awsat the importance of “partnership between components of the legitimacy and of dialogue to resolve any future differences.”

Meanwhile, on the ground, Yemeni military sources revealed that some STC forces had refused to quit their positions, prompting the forces to dispatch an official to Hadhramaut’s Seiyun city to negotiate the situation.