In the eighth part in an Egyptian Streets article series under the name of East-West Chitchat that aims to spark increased dialogue between Americans and Egyptians, Abdelrahman Amr and Michael Matthiesen explore Egypt’s role in establishing, the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA). Despite being an African, all my life I never identified as one. Growing up as an Egyptian and up until now, if asked about my ethnicity or race my mind automatically suggests Middle Eastern or Arab. This is the popular mindset Egyptians follow, in spite of having a leading role in the continent. In fact, Egypt’s flag carrier airline, EgyptAir, was recently mocked for a digital advertisement promoting flights from ‘Cairo to Africa’ overlooking Egypt’s location on the map. At the same time, there is a valuable opportunity to change the relation between North Africans, in general, and the rest of the continent, given that Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was installed African Union chairman following the 32nd AU summit. Egyptians might be dealing differently with countries in the continent in the future if this turned out to be one of Sisi’s goals For now, we can’t be sure what…
Sudan President Bashir Ousted Amidst Military Coup
After months of civil unrest and anti-Bashir protests, Sudan’s Minister of Defense, Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf, has announced the ousting of president Omar al-Bashir on Thursday. Sudan’s army has also set up a transitional military council to take control of the country for a temporary duration of two years, as per a televised statement. The news was expected as state television announced troops’ deployment in Khartoum and an ‘important announcement to be made soon’ earlier in the day. Footage of thousands of civilians taking to the streets has been circulating on social media, namely of of female protesters referred to as ‘Nubian queens’ leading anti-government chants. Security and army forces have taken position on major roads and bridges in the Sudanese capital; they’ve also been deployed around the defense ministry. An Egyptian Streets reporter on the ground has described the action unfurling in Sudan: after weeks of sporadic internet access, blocked sites have now returned to function, all pro-government organizations sites have been blocked instead and the city’s airport has temporarily shut down amidst the coup events. Although the protests were ongoing for months, the political situation bubbled over…
Meeting People of Egypt: Stories from Sinai to the Western Desert
From diving and breathtaking coral reefs of the Red Sea to the dunes of the Great Sand Sea, Egypt is an undiscovered destination for adventurous foreign travelers. Events occurring in the Middle East don’t give the country the best reputation. Egypt is still considered dangerous outside of the tourist zones of Sharm-el-Sheikh and Hurghada. Constant news about Egyptian politics, Egypt’s unstable economic situation, and gender inequality has stereotyped Egypt as an unsafe place to be. Though the country is still recovering since the 2011 revolution, Egypt is full of amazing places, hospitable people and 7000 years of culture. I happened to be in Egypt absolutely by accident; visiting a friend for a week in Dahab. Sinai fascinated me with its incredible nature and some kind of unexplained energy. Its international chaos, easy-going atmosphere and crazy mix of people made me stay. Dahab became my base-camp in the Middle East. Based on my research and conversations with locals, the country intrigued me. I decided to get out of Sinai’s tourist zone to meet another side of Egypt. How does Egypt greet me? What are the real stories and people behind all…
US Pledges Sanctions on Egypt If Purchasing of Russian Fighter Jets Occurs
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged that the United States would impose sanctions on Egypt once it bought Russian S-35 fighter jets. The U.S warning to Egypt came during a Senate budget hearing session, where Pompeo noted that Egypt would face sanctions if the Russian-made Su-35 role fighter aircraft arrived to the country, adding that U.S has received assurances from Egypt that Egyptian authorities are aware of these terms. “We’ve made clear that if those systems were to be purchased, the CAATSA statute would require sanctions on the regime,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at a Senate budget hearing. According to the U.S CAATSA act (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions) issued in 2017, Iran, North Korea and Russia are facing sanctions with the aim of combating those countries’ political, economic and military influences across the globe. The rise of Egypt’s expected Su-35 deal with Russia during the Senate budget hearing session came after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s top Republican, Democrat and 15 of other senators sent a letter to Pompeo Monday highlighting issues related to Egypt, including Cairo’s decision to reportedly purchase 20 Russian Su-35…
Al Sisi White House Visit: Egypt-US Relations “Never Been Better”
The much-anticipated meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and US President Donald Trump took place on the occasion of the bilateral summit at the White House in Washington. Al Sisi’s visit is set to last three days; he has already also met US Secretary of state, Mike Pompeo on his first day. Al Sisi praised the American President’s support of Egypt in the last years which has strengthened the relations between both countries. The Egyptian president, who has visited the White House twice since taking office in 2014, also stated that the Egyptian government was looking forward to additional cooperation with the US in various fields, namely economic and militarily. “We have never had a better relationship between Egypt and United States than we do right now,” Al Sisi stated as per state-owned outlet Al Ahram. Al Sisi and Trump also discussed anti-terrorism measures and efforts taken by Egypt which the latter praised. Both presidents also mentioned their visits in their Twitter accounts where President Al Sisi also stated that “we [the two heads of states] talked about very important topics and cases that were of mutual interest”….
Six-Year-Old Among Seven Killed by 15-Year-Old Suicide Bomber in Egypt’s North Sinai
A six-year-old child has been identified among seven people killed after a 15-year-old boy detonated explosives strapped to himself at a market in Egypt’s North Sinai on Tuesday 9 April. Four security forces members and three civilians were killed, and more than 26 civilians injured, after the suicide bomber targeted a security patrol at a market in North Sinai’s Sheikh Zuweid. The Ministry of Interior said that its forces acted quickly following the bombing and increased security at schools and hospitals. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack and the 15-year-old suicide bomber has not been publicly identified. Those injured in the attack were between the ages of four and 80. The market was busy at the time of the attack, which took place shortly before noon. Terror attacks targeting civilians in North Sinai are uncommon, with the majority of attacks targeting security personnel. Egypt’s Armed Forces is currently running an anti-terror campaign, launched in February 2018, to “eliminate terrorism” in the region. The campaign was launched after an after an attack on a mosque killed more than 300 people. The military, along with police forces, has killed hundreds of…
Holy Family Trail in Egypt: Five Sites Under Development Program
According to local Egyptian news outlets, the Ministry of Local development has announced its program to develop five archeological sites on the flight of the Holy Family’s trail. The decision was announced on Monday; it involves the Monastery of Bishop Bishoy, the Church of the Virgin in Maadi, the Monastery of El Suryan, the Paromeos Monastery and the Church of Abu Sarja in Masr Al Qadim. There are various forms of tourism, the backbone of the country’s economy, existing in Egypt; local and international tourists indulge in cultural and leisure tourism although the government is promoting the country’s potential for medical and religious tourism as well. Other than allocating money for the development of tourists spots in the enclosure of the monasteries, the Ministry is also planning on improving infrastructure in the roads directing the trail, providing ‘green’ spaces and the refurbishment of certain monuments. “The Holy Family came to Egypt, traveling for about three-and-a-half years across the country. What we have done is-and this project is not recent as we started it about two or three years ago- we picked eight locations in four cities and we prepared their…
Egyptian Female Peacekeeper Honoured With UN Medal For Her Work in Congo
An Egyptian female peacekeeper was honored by the Force Commander of the United Nations Organization for Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) with the United Nations Medal at the city of Goma, according to the United Nations Information Centre in Cairo. The female peacekeeper was among 51 military personnel from different countries at the ceremony. Egypt’s Ministry of Interior has been increasing the number of women joining the peacekeeping forces throughout the years, as Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stated earlier in 2018, with around 3,000 Egyptian men and women spread across the Congo, Mali, the Central African Republic and Darfur. Nahed Salah is the first Egyptian woman to join the UN peacekeeping forces in 2014, in which she served as the head of the police department at the UN Peacekeeping Mission to Morocco. Her main tasks included protecting local women from sexual violence and providing assistance to the survivors of sexual violence, in compliance with United Nations standard for their missions in troubled areas. Women currently represent only 4 per cent of the more than 80,000 UN Peacekeepers, despite their key role in preventing sexual violence…
Introducing a New Environmentally Friendly Mode of Transportation using Scooters, Slyd
To help tackle the air pollution in Egypt, Slyd is introducing an environmentally-cautious solution targeted at helping people commute the last-mile through their application. The last mile is considered the distance between your transportation vehicle stop and your desired destination. This phenomenon gave birth to Slyd. Co-founder Alaa Shalabi shares how the idea came to life. “From my pervious experience working at Careem, we always had this hypothesis that mass transportation is a big gap in the region that needs to be fulfilled,” he said, “As I was working on ‘Careem Bus’ project (Careem bus) I found a gap: if people wanted to leave their cars at home and use mass transportation private or public, they are extremely hindered because there are no first and last stop solutions.” According to Shalabi, this causes major inconvenience for riders who are unable to find means of commuting to or from their desired destination. While the scooters are often a vehicle that people use for fun rather than a mode of transport, countries in Europe and Asia have popularized the vehicle for commuting purposes. To learn more how these countries were able to…