President Sisi says Egypt firmly believes Yemeni crisis cannot be settled by force
Sisi emphasized that Egypt firmly believes that the Yemeni crisis cannot be resolved through the use of force, but rather through a focus on achieving a peaceful political settlement that leads to a comprehensive and lasting solution.
The meeting reaffirmed Egypt's steadfast support for the unity and independence of the Yemeni state and the integrity of its territories, the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement.
Moreover, the meeting emphasized the connection between Yemen's security and stability and Egypt's national security, as well as the security of the Arab region and the Red Sea.
Alimi commended Egypt's efforts aimed at restoring stability in Yemen and supporting the Yemeni people.
He praised Egypt for hosting thousands of Yemenis who receive excellent treatment from their Egyptian brothers, reflecting the deep historical ties between the two peoples.
The talks also covered ways to restore security and stability in the Bab al-Mandab area, emphasizing the importance of halting attacks targeting commercial vessels there.
The meeting highlighted the substantial losses Egypt endured as a result of those attacks, with a $7-billion decline in Suez Canal revenues in 2024.
Sisi's meeting with Alimi took place on the sidelines of the extraordinary Arab summit dedicated for Palestine, held in the New Administrative Capital.
The summit brought together Arab leaders to endorse Egypt's plan for the reconstruction of Gaza, reiterate firm rejection of schemes to relocate Palestinians outside their lands and advocate for an end to the Israeli occupation and the implementation of a two-state solution.
https://t.co/kRlILIGRu0
Arab leaders praised on Tuesday Egypt's plan for Gaza reconstruction announced by President Abdel Fattah al Sisi, they also confirmed during their speeches at the Extraordinary Arab Summit in Cairo, their rejections for all attempts to liquidate the… — Egypt Today Magazine (@EgyptTodayMag) March 5, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
See - Sada Elbalad
3 hours ago
- See - Sada Elbalad
Sisi, Bin Salman Call for Immediate Gaza Humanitarian Relief
H-Tayea President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed the urgent need to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza without restrictions, secure the release of hostages and prisoners, and reject any attempts to displace Palestinians or reinstate Israeli military control over the Strip. The two leaders also called for an end to Israeli actions against Palestinians in the West Bank. The talks took place in NEOM, where the leaders held extended discussions followed by a private meeting. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed President Sisi, reaffirming the deep ties between the two countries and Saudi Arabia's commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation across various fields. He praised Egypt's regional role in supporting stability and development. President Sisi expressed gratitude for the warm reception, stressing Egypt's appreciation of its historic bonds with Saudi Arabia and its desire to build on recent advances in economic and strategic partnership. The meeting addressed expanding joint investments, the establishment of the Egyptian-Saudi High Coordination Council, and cooperation in areas such as industrial integration, technology, transportation, renewable energy, and urban development. On regional issues, the two leaders discussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and reiterated their support for the two-state solution. They also underscored their joint commitment to ongoing coordination amid regional challenges, stressing the importance of maintaining stability, sovereignty, and national institutions across the Middle East. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid Videos & Features Story behind Trending Jessica Radcliffe Death Video News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters Arts & Culture "Jurassic World Rebirth" Gets Streaming Date News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia Business Egyptian Pound Undervalued by 30%, Says Goldman Sachs Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt News The Jessica Radcliffe Orca Attack? 100% Fake and AI-Generated
Al-Ahram Weekly
3 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
The CBAM is coming - Economy - Al-Ahram Weekly
Egyptian companies will need to shape up as the implementation of the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism nears. Egypt is only four months away from having to abide by Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a tax that will apply to goods imported from outside the European Union (EU). It imposes a charge on the embedded carbon content of imports — defined as carbon emitted during the production of carbon-intensive goods — equal to the charge imposed on goods produced within the EU. With the January 2026 deadline for the implementation of the CBAM closing in, the government has been mobilising efforts to enable exporters to face the challenges posed by the new tax. The state is keen to take steps to enhance the readiness of the Egyptian industrial sector to keep pace with international environmental changes, particularly in the light of the application of the CBAM, Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel Al-Wazir said during a meeting last month with Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat. According to Ahmed Rushdy, advisor to the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) for Sustainability and Environmental Markets, starting in 2026 EU importers of products like steel, aluminum, fertilisers, cement, electricity, and hydrogen will have to buy CBAM certificates that reflect the carbon emissions from their production. This is a direct challenge for Egyptian exporters because the EU is Egypt's largest trading partner. Egypt's annual exports to the EU amount to around $14 billion, Magdy Al-Nabrawy, head of the Business Development Sector at the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), said during a conference aimed at raising awareness of the CBAM. Egyptian exports include products from sectors to which the CBAM will apply, namely steel, aluminum, and fertilisers, which are energy-intensive industries with significant emissions. 'If Egyptian exporters do not act quickly to reduce their carbon footprint, they will face additional costs at the EU border,' Rushdy said. These costs could significantly reduce the competitiveness of Egyptian products, he explained. Rushdy said exporters must start measuring and reporting their emissions, because the failure to do so will result in the EU applying high default values. Companies must also invest in cleaner production technologies to lower emissions in the long term. 'The CBAM is not just an environmental regulation. It is an economic game-changer that demands rapid adaptation from Egyptian industries.' Egyptian firms should have got ready to adapt to the CBAM a long time ago, Osama Henein, the founder and CEO of Hydrogen Intelligence-Egypt, told Al-Ahram Weekly. The CBAM came into effect in 2023, starting with a transitional phase that runs until the end of 2025. Henein said the fertiliser industry could be the quickest to adapt to the new rules, but its factories will need some retrofitting to be able to use green hydrogen for fuel instead of natural gas. While this could cost between $30 million and $50 million and would need around a year, it would be cheaper and require less time than the construction of greenfield ammonia plants, he explained. On another positive note, most steel plants built in Egypt in the past 15 years utilise direct reduction of iron technology, a process that produces metallic iron from iron ore without smelting, representing 60 per cent of Egypt's steel production capacity. The plants can be easily adapted to utilise green hydrogen instead of natural gas or other fossil fuels, thus reducing carbon emissions, he said. Green power: Henein said that Egypt should also have a dedicated green corridor for green electricity. Currently, all the energy produced from clean sources is transmitted via the national electricity network, he explained, adding that around 12 to 15 per cent of the 60 Gigawatts produced annually is from renewable sources. Having a dedicated green corridor would make it easier for producers to produce green hydrogen and calculate their carbon footprint. Factories could also build their own renewable energy network, but vacant land nearby is not always available, he noted. A second option, he suggested, could be a shared mini or micro smart grid whereby adjacent factories could build a green electricity network that serves them all. Until factories get their operations in order, they could export to other markets that do not apply the CBAM, Henein said, but this could mean risking losing their market share in Europe. According to Henein, Egyptian fertilisers are in demand in the European market because of their high quality, encouraging European importers to pay a premium above the market price. For Egyptian products to enter the EU, EU importers will need to purchase carbon credits certificates or International Renewable Energy Certificates (IRECs) to cover the carbon price that would have been paid if the products were produced in the EU. If the non-EU producer has already paid a carbon price for producing the imported goods in a third country, that cost can be deducted from the CBAM obligation subject to the carbon price of the third country. This should encourage the government to impose a carbon tax domestically, Henein said, because firms will be paying it anyway — if not in Egypt, then in the EU. In the process towards compliance with the CBAM financing can be a problem. According to Rushdy, financing is often the biggest barrier to change. Retrofitting a steel plant, switching to green hydrogen, or modernising fertiliser production lines can cost tens of millions of dollars. Many companies, especially smaller ones, simply cannot shoulder these investments alone. A July 2025 research paper titled 'Is Egypt ready for the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)? Evidence from FirmLevel Data' authored by Yasmine Kamal, Mahmoud Mohieldin, and Myriam Ramzy found that financial constraints negatively impact a firm's investment in machinery and vehicle upgrades, which are capital intensive. According to focus group discussions and surveys with firms making steel, fertilisers, and cement, the researchers found that a lack of funds was a top challenge for their decarbonisation plans. Al-Mashat said during her meeting with Al-Wazir in July that the two ministries were coordinating to launch the first national platform to mobilise financing and technical support for the industrial sector. 'We are working to maximise the industrial sector's benefit from international partnerships to increase the competitiveness of Egyptian exports and reduce carbon emissions,' she said. CBAM ready: According to Rushdy, this would be a highly significant and welcome development. By officially committing to a national climate finance platform, the government is signaling that CBAM-readiness is a strategic economic priority, not just an environmental concern, he said. Modeled on the success of programmes like the Nexus for Water, Food, and Energy (NWFE), the platform would be central hub that connects Egyptian industries with the funding, expertise, and partnerships they need to decarbonise and remain competitive in the EU market, he explained. The platform could connect companies with concessional loans, grants, and blended finance arrangements from international climate funds, development banks, and private investors. By lowering the cost of capital and de-risking projects, it would make large-scale decarbonisation achievable, he noted. Cherine Khallaf, director of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Lynx Strategic Business Advisors, agrees. This financing is likely to speed the concerned sectors' decarbonisation and enhance their compliance with EU regulations, safeguarding Egypt's export markets and helping the country benefit from an increased market share, she told the Weekly. Moreover, including small-scale industrial projects in the supply chain can help modernise the industrial sector and encourage innovation to leapfrog towards green technologies, she added. Khallaf suggested a multi-tiered system whereby financing can target both brownfield and greenfield projects. Brownfield finance would focus on retrofitting, carbon offsetting, and resources efficiency measures, while greenfield projects would benefit from the funding of renewable energy and de-risking green hydrogen, eco-design, and circular economy measures. Equally important is the technical support side, Rushdy said. Many exporters are still unfamiliar with how to measure their emissions, comply with EU reporting requirements, or verify their data through accredited bodies. He explained that without technical know-how, companies cannot develop accurate emissions data or identify the most effective decarbonisation strategies. Rushdy praised steps already taken by the government, pointing out that the Cabinet approved the national CBAM implementation plan in December 2024, sectoral roadmaps and timelines are being finalised, and a permanent National Committee for Carbon Reduction is in place to oversee progress. According to the research paper, both firms and the government have a role to play in improving the competitiveness of Egyptian exporters of CBAM products in the EU market. Firms need to identify their financial need and seek green financing, especially loans and grants that are offered through international partnerships that need to be expanded in both volumes and firms coverage. Firms also need to grasp the opportunities provided by Egypt's voluntary carbon market, which was first launched in August 2024, the paper said. The development of this market could facilitate the green transition of firms, as the issuers of carbon credits, resulting from their reduction of emissions, can mitigate their decarbonisation costs by mobilising funds, and the buyers of these credits can use them to offset their carbon footprints. However, according to the paper, it remains uncertain whether the CBAM regulations will recognise the use of such credits. Meanwhile, government bodies should provide financial and technical assistance and capacity building to firms, especially in carbon measurement. The government should also establish and identify the national institutions that are specialised and accredited in providing green technical assistance to firms, the paper said. It should assist firms, especially small and medium-sized ones, in securing the financing of the green transition. That assistance could be in the form of tax incentives or investment subsidies to finance green investments, the researchers suggested. * A version of this article appears in print in the 21 August, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
5 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Egypt backs Saudi initiatives supporting Palestinian cause: El-Sisi to bin Salman
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi affirmed Egypt's support for Saudi initiatives to achieve a just resolution of the Palestinian cause, including the outcomes of the Two-State Solution conference co-hosted by the Kingdom in late July. This came during a meeting between the Egyptian president and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman in Neom, Saudi Arabia on Thursday. Earlier on Thursday, the Saudi Crown Prince received President El-Sisi at NEOM Bay Airport at the start of his official visit to the Kingdom. According to the Egyptian presidency, both leaders agreed during their talks on rejecting any attempts to displace Palestinian people from their land or to reimpose Israeli military occupation on the Gaza Strip. They also reviewed Egypt's efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza in coordination with various parties, stressing the need to accelerate the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to the strip, and secure the exchange of captives and detainees. El-Sisi and bin Salman further emphasised the necessity of halting Israeli violations against the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The meeting between the two leaders comes amid intensive Egyptian and Qatari efforts to secure a ceasefire in the 22-month-old Gaza war between Israel and Hamas. It also comes as Tel Aviv pounds north Gaza, as it gears up to launch a major assault on Gaza City amid plans to reoccupy the entire strip. Cairo and Doha have intensified their mediation with various international partners to halt the war in Gaza, deliver urgent humanitarian aid to the strip, and prevent further deterioration of the catastrophic situation as famine grips 2.3 million Palestinians in the strip. On Tuesday, Cairo and Doha confirmed that Hamas has agreed to a 60-day truce proposal that was previously agreed to by Israel. Tel Aviv has not responded yet. In late July, Saudi Arabia and France co-chaired a high-level UN conference in New York in an attempt to revive stalled talks on a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. Egyptian-Saudi ties According to the Egyptian presidency, both sides addressed bilateral cooperation, where they affirmed the importance of strengthening joint investments and expediting the launch of the Egyptian-Saudi Higher Coordination Council as a comprehensive framework for advancing ties at all levels. El-Sisi and bin Salman also agreed to initiate further partnerships in the fields of industrial integration, localisation of technological industries, transportation, new and renewable energy, and urban development. During the meeting, the Egyptian president expressed profound appreciation and deep gratitude for the warm welcome and generous hospitality he received during his visit, praising the close historical bonds linking Cairo and Riyadh. He also expressed keenness to continue building on the qualitative leap achieved in bilateral relations, in a way that contributes to strengthening economic and trade partnership and aligns with the aspirations of both peoples. In turn, the Saudi Crown Prince expressed the Kingdom's pride in its deep-rooted fraternal ties with Egypt, reaffirming his keenness to enhance frameworks of bilateral cooperation across various fields, and elevate them towards broader and more sustainable horizons that serve the interests of both nations. In 2024, trade between Egypt and Saudi Arabia grew by 18.8 percent to $6.5 billion, up from $5.5 billion in 2023, according to Head of the Egyptian Commercial Office in Saudi Arabia Osama Basha . He also noted that Saudi investments in Egypt reached $37 billion across more than 6,830 companies, while Egyptian investments in Saudi Arabia totalled $5 billion through 805 companies. Egypt now ranks seventh among Saudi Arabia's largest trading partners, Basha said. Both leaders also discussed the latest regional and international developments. According to the Egyptian presidency, El-Sisi and bin Salman stressed the importance of supporting the stability of the region's states, preserving their territorial integrity, and safeguarding their national institutions. The Egyptian president and Saudi Crown Prince affirmed their determination to continue coordination and consultations amid the rapid developments in the Middle East. For his part, bin Salman praised Egypt's pivotal role in consolidating regional security, stability, and development, based on its historical influence and strategic position. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
