After mutual visits that focused on cooperation in political and economic fields, and raising relations to the level of “strategic partnership,” Egypt and South Africa launched, on Friday, a business council in a move aimed at “translating political momentum into broader economic and investment cooperation.”
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty said, “The inauguration of the council comes at a time when there is increasing momentum in Egyptian-South African relations and intense political communication between the two countries,” stressing the importance of focusing on the sectors of mining and mineral resources, energy and industry, renewable energy, agriculture and food industries, medicine, transportation and logistics, ports and infrastructure, according to a statement issued by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
Abdel Aty participated in the inauguration ceremony of the “Egyptian-South African Business Council” on Friday, during the investment event in the automotive sector in Africa, which was organized by the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade in cooperation with the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim Bank) and South Africa.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister stressed the importance of developing cooperation in the fields of transport and logistics and linking the north of the continent with its south, including establishing mutual logistics zones, developing regular shipping lines, and benefiting from the Suez Canal and the ports of the two countries to support the movement of trade and investment within Africa.
Abdel Aty expressed his aspiration that the Egyptian-South African Business Council will constitute an effective platform for transforming available opportunities into tangible investments and projects, thus strengthening economic and trade relations between Egypt and South Africa and supporting African economic integration.
He also stressed the importance of benefiting from the two countries' membership in the BRICS grouping, and from South Africa's accession to the Afrexim Bank, to enhance financing and investment opportunities and support joint projects between the private sectors in the two countries.
During his last visit to Johannesburg, in November, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said, “Egypt looks forward to cooperating with South Africa to achieve African integration at the level of the entire continent.”
Former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is currently imprisoned, has requested permission to travel outside the country to receive treatment, according to what his lawyer told Agence France-Presse on Friday.
Lawyer Muhammad Al-Hassan Al-Amin explained that the health of Al-Bashir (82 years old) has deteriorated recently, and he was transferred from a hospital in Meroe, north of Khartoum, to Aliya Specialized Military Hospital in Omdurman, near the capital, Khartoum.
He pointed out that his condition requires “medical examinations and heart x-rays, which are not currently available in Sudanese hospitals, and are available in most countries that have medical capabilities.”
He said that he is not asking to be allowed to travel to a specific country, but rather “to travel to any country where the required medical procedures are available.”
He added: “There has been no response yet. We were informed by the judiciary that there is no case being considered or any ruling against him, and the matter is in the hands of other authorities.”
Al-Bashir's family confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that his health had deteriorated to the point that medical treatment abroad had become "very necessary," without mentioning further medical details.
Omar al-Bashir took power in 1989 before he was ousted by the army in 2019 following popular protests.
Al-Bashir is subject to an international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in 2010, on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in the bloody conflict that broke out in Darfur in 2003, which brought together militias loyal to Al-Bashir and rebel groups from African minorities.
Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, Commander-in-Chief of the National Army in Libya, distanced himself from the ongoing disputes within the House of Representatives between supporters of the Speaker of the House, Aguila Saleh, and opponents demanding reform of the House, changing its presidency, and amending its internal regulations.
On Thursday, Haftar met in his office at the General Command headquarters in Benghazi with about 65 deputies from both parties, in light of a state of severe tension within the Council, especially after his president’s opponents were prevented from holding a session to discuss the internal regulations on September 21 of last year.
The General Command said that Field Marshal Haftar welcomed the members of the House of Representatives and “praised their role and national responsibility during this stage.” He also stressed “the importance of concerted efforts and putting the nation’s interest, unity and sovereignty above all else.”
Many bet on the results of the meeting, which ended on Thursday evening, after which Haftar affirmed his “support for the efforts aimed at ending the state of division and unifying state institutions,” praising “the role of the House of Representatives in the political track and the outcomes of the (4 + 4) committee.”
A parliamentarian who attended the meeting told Asharq Al-Awsat that Field Marshal Haftar “preferred to distance himself from the polarization taking place within Parliament, and did not support one party over the other, and directed the necessity of dialogue between representatives to find a way to organize his internal affairs away from any interference.”
The representative, who requested that his name not be mentioned, believes that there are “those who involve Haftar’s two sons, Major General Saddam and Khaled, in the ongoing disputes in the House of Representatives, for the purpose of a quarrel.” He said that Parliament “is capable of managing its affairs without any tutelage from anyone.”
The meeting was attended by Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant General Saddam Haftar, Director General of the Libya Development and Reconstruction Fund, Belkacem Haftar, and a number of deputies.
Regarding the situation within the army, Haftar stressed “the readiness of the armed forces and their ability to protect the homeland and confront any threat that affects Libya’s security, sovereignty and stability.”
86 deputies accused the Presidency of the House of Representatives of preventing them from entering the House headquarters and holding a session with a full quorum to discuss reforming the House of Representatives and amending its internal regulations, recalling that they were prevented eight months before holding a session.
The representatives said that they “do not aim to disrupt any existing political or electoral path, including the (4 + 4) path to which they previously announced their approval, but rather to reform the work of the House of Representatives and enable its members to exercise their duties in accordance with the rules regulating the work of the House.”
Haftar previously welcomed the signing of the “4 + 4” agreement, and stressed the importance of continuing to work on the consensus achieved, calling for “complementing efforts aimed at supporting stability, ending the state of division, and realizing the aspirations of the Libyan people.”
The agreement, which was signed by eight representatives from eastern and western Libya on August 30, inside the mission’s headquarters in the Janzur region in northwestern Libya, was welcomed by local and international parties, and the UN mission considered it “an important step towards overcoming the political and institutional impasse, which hindered the electoral process in Libya.”
