News Analysis India

Tag: Egypt

  • Egypt’s el-Sisi Re-Elected President Registering Landslide Victory With 89.6% Votes | world news

    CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is headed towards a landslide victory in Egypt’s presidential elections on Monday securing a third term as leader of the Middle East’s most populous nation, Al Jazeera reported. Following the counting of votes between December 10 and 12, the National Elections Authority of Egypt said that Sisi won 89.6 percent of the votes.

    Turnout reached an “unprecedented” 66.8 percent of voters, said authority head Hazem Badawy. Furthermore, over 39 million Egyptians cast their ballots for Sisi, a former army chief who has ruled the most populous Arab country for a decade, according to Al Jazeera. Amid Egypt dealing with several crises, including the Israel-Hamas war in neighboring Gaza and the country’s worst-ever economic crisis, Sisi won even though the result was in little doubt.

    Reportedly, despite Egypt’s challenges, a decade-long crackdown on dissent has eliminated any serious opposition to Sisi, the fifth president to emerge from within the ranks of the military since 1952, reported Al Jazeera. Sisi was running against three other candidates, none of whom were high-profile, according to Al Jazeera.

    However, he ended his run complaining that his campaign had been impeded and dozens of his supporters had been arrested. Furthermore, runner-up Hazem Omar, who leads the Republican People’s Party, received 4.5 percent of the vote. The next came Farid Zahran, leader of the left-leaning Egyptian Social Democratic Party, and Abdel-Sanad Yamama from the Wafd, a century-old but relatively marginal party, according to Al Jazeera.

    Sisi is now set to serve his third–and, according to the constitution, final–term in office, which will begin in April. However, in both previous elections, Sisi won with 97 percent of the vote. Sisi extended the presidential mandate from four to six years and amended the constitution to raise the limit on consecutive terms in office from two to three, Al Jazeera reported.

    Notably, under Sisi’s rule, Egypt has jailed thousands of political prisoners, and while a presidential pardons committee has freed about 1,000 in one year, rights groups said that three to four times, many were arrested over the same period.

  • PM Modi holds talks with Egyptian President Sisi, discusses strategic partnership ties

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India and Egypt on Wednesday decided to elevate their ties to the level of strategic partnership with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi vowing to expand ties in areas of defence and security, trade and counter-terror cooperation.

    After his wide-ranging talks with Sisi, Modi said the two sides were unanimous in their view that terrorism is the most serious security threat to humanity and that they agreed that concrete measures are needed to end cross-border terrorism.

    The two sides inked five agreements providing for cooperation in areas of culture, IT, cyber security, youth matters and broadcasting.

    In his media statement in the presence of Sisi, Modi also said that both sides have decided to take the bilateral trade to USD 12 billion in the next five years.

    “We have decided that under the India-Egypt strategic partnership, we will develop a long-term framework for comprehensive cooperation in political, security, economic and scientific fields,” Modi said.

    He also noted that it was decided to further strengthen cooperation between the defence industries of the two countries and to increase the exchange of counter-terror-related information and intelligence.

    “Deepening our bond with Egypt — the natural bridge that connects Asia with Africa. PM @narendramodi and President @AlsisiOfficial hold talks adding momentum to the multifaceted India-Egypt relations marked by civilisational, cultural & economic linkages and deep-rooted P2P ties,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

    A bond between the Ganges and the Nile!PM @narendramodi and President @AlsisiOfficial also witnessed the exchange of Commemorative Postal Stamps to mark the milestone of 75th anniversary of India-Egypt diplomatic ties. pic.twitter.com/kSXzOpPosh
    — Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) January 25, 2023
    In his remarks, Sisi said there was a discussion on boosting connectivity between the two countries. Egypt wants to see more and more Indian tourists visiting that country, he said.

    “We discussed regional and global issues of mutual interests…We also deliberate on bilateral defence cooperation,” he said.

    The Egyptian President echoed Modi’s views on terrorism and said united efforts are required to deal with the menace. “We have similar views on dealing with terrorism and extremism,” he said.

    The 68-year-old influential Arab leader, who arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day visit, will grace the Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest.

    The Egyptian President previously visited India in October 2015 to participate in the third India-Africa Forum Summit which was followed by his State visit in September 2016.

    This is for the first time that the President of Egypt has been invited as the chief guest to India’s Republic Day celebrations. A military contingent from the Egyptian Army will also participate in the Republic Day parade.

    India is keen to further expand ties with Egypt, a key player in the politics of both the Arab world as well as Africa. It is also seen as a major gateway to markets in Africa and Europe.

    ALSO READ | OPINION: Sisi invite fills critical foreign policy gap

    NEW DELHI: India and Egypt on Wednesday decided to elevate their ties to the level of strategic partnership with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi vowing to expand ties in areas of defence and security, trade and counter-terror cooperation.

    After his wide-ranging talks with Sisi, Modi said the two sides were unanimous in their view that terrorism is the most serious security threat to humanity and that they agreed that concrete measures are needed to end cross-border terrorism.

    The two sides inked five agreements providing for cooperation in areas of culture, IT, cyber security, youth matters and broadcasting.

    In his media statement in the presence of Sisi, Modi also said that both sides have decided to take the bilateral trade to USD 12 billion in the next five years.

    “We have decided that under the India-Egypt strategic partnership, we will develop a long-term framework for comprehensive cooperation in political, security, economic and scientific fields,” Modi said.

    He also noted that it was decided to further strengthen cooperation between the defence industries of the two countries and to increase the exchange of counter-terror-related information and intelligence.

    “Deepening our bond with Egypt — the natural bridge that connects Asia with Africa. PM @narendramodi and President @AlsisiOfficial hold talks adding momentum to the multifaceted India-Egypt relations marked by civilisational, cultural & economic linkages and deep-rooted P2P ties,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

    A bond between the Ganges and the Nile!
    PM @narendramodi and President @AlsisiOfficial also witnessed the exchange of Commemorative Postal Stamps to mark the milestone of 75th anniversary of India-Egypt diplomatic ties. pic.twitter.com/kSXzOpPosh
    — Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) January 25, 2023
    In his remarks, Sisi said there was a discussion on boosting connectivity between the two countries. Egypt wants to see more and more Indian tourists visiting that country, he said.

    “We discussed regional and global issues of mutual interests…We also deliberate on bilateral defence cooperation,” he said.

    The Egyptian President echoed Modi’s views on terrorism and said united efforts are required to deal with the menace. “We have similar views on dealing with terrorism and extremism,” he said.

    The 68-year-old influential Arab leader, who arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day visit, will grace the Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest.

    The Egyptian President previously visited India in October 2015 to participate in the third India-Africa Forum Summit which was followed by his State visit in September 2016.

    This is for the first time that the President of Egypt has been invited as the chief guest to India’s Republic Day celebrations. A military contingent from the Egyptian Army will also participate in the Republic Day parade.

    India is keen to further expand ties with Egypt, a key player in the politics of both the Arab world as well as Africa. It is also seen as a major gateway to markets in Africa and Europe.

    ALSO READ | OPINION: Sisi invite fills critical foreign policy gap

  • IS militants abduct five people in Sinai, say Egyptian officials

    By Associated Press
    EL-ARISH: At least five Egyptians were abducted by Islamic State militants on Tuesday in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, security officials said.

    The five were driving to their workplace in the small town of Bir al-Abed when the militants from the Islamic State group stopped their vehicle and took them to an unknown place.

    The five include three engineers, a labourer and their driver, said the officials.

    They all work at the el-Salam canal project that moves the Nile Delta drainage water to be reused in agriculture in the peninsula.

    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

    The two security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

    Egypt has been battling militants, now led by the Islamic State group, in the northern part of Sinai for years.

    Violence and instability there intensified after the 2013 military’s ouster of Egypt’s elected but divisive Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, amid nationwide protests against his year in power.

    IS has carried out numerous attacks, mainly targeting Egyptian security forces, the country’s minority Christians and those whom the militants accuse of collaborating with the military and police.

    They have also kidnapped people, mostly Christians and Bedouins, sometimes for ransom.

    Though the pace of IS attacks in Sinai has slowed to a trickle since February 2018, when the military launched a massive operation in Sinai that also encompassed parts of the Nile Delta and the desert along the country’s western border with Libya, abductions, and kidnappings still occasionally happen.