What are Cairo’s Options to Confront Impact of Red Sea Tensions on Suez Canal?

An American destroyer in the Red Sea to protect ships from Houthi attacks (US Army)
An American destroyer in the Red Sea to protect ships from Houthi attacks (US Army)
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What are Cairo’s Options to Confront Impact of Red Sea Tensions on Suez Canal?

An American destroyer in the Red Sea to protect ships from Houthi attacks (US Army)
An American destroyer in the Red Sea to protect ships from Houthi attacks (US Army)

Official statements in Egypt about a 60 percent decline in revenues from the Suez Canal have renewed questions about Cairo’s options to confront the impact of Red Sea tensions on the canal.
While some experts talked about diplomatic routes, others stressed that the Egyptian effort has limited results due to complex political obstacles that have led to these tensions, mainly the war in Gaza.
Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait, said that the Suez Canal revenues declined by 60 percent.
In recent statements on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, he attributed this fall to the continued tensions in the Red Sea.
Since the end of November, the Yemeni Houthi group has been targeting ships in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab region, which it says are “owned or operated by Israeli companies.”
The attacks came in response to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, and forced international shipping companies to divert their vessels to the Cape of Good Hope route, despite the increase in shipping cost and time.
The Deputy Director of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Ayman Abdel Wahab said that the political options available to Egypt to confront the Red Sea tensions “depend on maintaining diplomatic moves to enhance stability in the region.”
“Egypt needs to intensify its political movements with all parties to reach an international consensus to enhance stability in the Red Sea, and not just secure the movement of ships,” he said, adding: “Regional and international powers must reduce competition over Red Sea ports and seek a greater level of coordination.”
For his part, Economic Expert Wael Al-Nahas told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt’s current options to confront the decline in Suez Canal revenues are to increase exports in all fields to ensure a regular dollar flow.”
In a report issued on Monday, the World Bank indicated that the continuation of the crisis resulting from the Houthi attacks on vessels passing through the Red Sea, and the decrease in Suez Canal transit traffic, “will cause losses of about $3.5 billion in Egypt’s dollar revenues.”
Former Egyptian Foreign Minister and Chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mohamed Al-Orabi, said that Egypt had limited options to address the current situation.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Egypt alone cannot deal with the continued tensions in the Red Sea, and any Egyptian effort will have limited results due to the complexity of the political reasons that led to these tensions, mainly the war in Gaza.”

 

 



Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
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Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)

Scores of US-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.

The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.

The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main US-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.

The withdrawal of fighters from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.

Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.

After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.

Kurds made up 10% of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.