Davos updates | Egypt promises to push pledges as COP27 host
Switzerland Davos Forum Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry poses for media after an interview with the Associated Press at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Monday, May 23, 2022. The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos from May 22 until May 26, 2022. Panelists said during a World Economic Forum panel Monday in Davos that the uncertainty is rattling financial markets and complicating investment decisions for businesses. Vitali Klitschko pointed to the audience during a World Economic Forum panel Monday with his brother, Wladimir, and said, “We are defending you personally." Gelsinger said at a press roundtable on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum that “to us, this is now the No.
wftv.comEgypt promises to allow protest, push pledges as COP27 host
Their arguments could get a boost by the symbolic significance of this conference being held in Egypt, a developing nation in North Africa. Shoukry said during meetings in Denmark earlier this month around climate pledges he invited protesters who were outside to speak with him. Ahead of hosting the conference, Egypt has been racing to launch many agreements around renewable energies. In March, Egypt and Norway signed an agreement for several projects around green hydrogen and building green infrastructure projects in African countries. Follow him here: http://twitter.com/peterprengaman____Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations.
wftv.comCOP27 host Egypt will push for climate goals, allow protests
Their arguments could get a boost by the symbolic significance of this conference being held in Egypt, a developing nation in North Africa. He called the meeting “productive” and that Egypt’s climate goals lined up with those of many protesters. Ahead of hosting the conference, Egypt has been racing to launch many agreements around renewable energies. In March, Egypt and Norway signed an agreement for several projects around green hydrogen and building green infrastructure projects in African countries. Follow him here: http://twitter.com/peterprengaman____Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations.
wftv.comUS approves $1B arms sale to Nigeria despite rights concerns
US Egypt Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a meeting with Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, April 13, 2022. The State Department on Thursday announced the approval of the $997 million sale of 24 Bell AH-1Z Viper helicopters and related equipment to Nigeria. The related equipment includes guidance, night vision and targeting systems as well as engines and training support, the department said in a notice to Congress. The sale went ahead after a November visit to Abuja by Secretary of State Antony Blinken during which he raised concerns about Nigeria's rights record. Nigeria’s security forces have long been accused of human rights violations in their operations, with personnel involved often escaping justice.
wftv.comArab, US top diplomats in Israel as Mideast dynamic shifts
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool) (Jacquelyn Martin)SDE BOKER, Israel — (AP) — Israel on Monday hosted the foreign ministers of four Arab nations and the United States in a bid to strengthen its position in a rapidly shifting Middle East. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said the group was “making history” as he announced the gathering would become an annual event. Although Iran has since raced ahead with its nuclear program, Israel and Gulf Arab countries are deeply concerned about restoring the original deal. Underscoring regional anxieties, Israel’s government hastily arranged the meeting of top diplomats from Arab countries that have normalized relations with Israel. Lapid took the Arab ministers to visit Ben-Gurion's grave, a remarkable step given the sensitivities with the Palestinians over Israel's establishment.
wftv.comUS, Egypt launch group to prepare for COP27 climate summit
Egypt US U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, second from left, chairs his delegations during a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry at the foreign ministry headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) (Amr Nabil)CAIRO — (AP) — The United States and Egypt on Monday launched a joint working group to prepare for the U.N. climate change summit being held in Egypt in November, a U.S. envoy said. John Kerry, President Biden’s special envoy for climate, said the group is focused on the U.N.’s COP27 conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. He said Egypt, which is chairing the summit, has already begun its preparations and set ambitious goals. In the news briefing, Kerry said they aim to implement all promises made in last year’s U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
wftv.comUS, Egypt launch group to prepare for COP27 climate summit
Egypt US U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, second from left, chairs his delegations during a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry at the foreign ministry headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) (Amr Nabil)CAIRO — (AP) — The United States and Egypt on Monday launched a joint working group to prepare for the next climate change summit in November, the American envoy for climate issues said. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said the group is focused on the United Nations' COP27 conference in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. This is not anything to do with some of the issues” of concern for the U.S. administration, Kerry said at a news briefing in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry. Kerry said that the U.S. was also working with Egypt on its own transition to a clean energy future.
wftv.comEgypt backs federal peace deal for ethnically spit Cyprus
Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said that he conveyed to Shoukry his government’s “deep concern regarding Turkey’s increasingly revisionist and destabilizing foreign policy” in the region. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island’s north where it keeps more than 35,000 troops. Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said a prerequisite to reviving stalled peace talks is the recognition of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state as a legitimate legal entity on par with the internationally recognized Cyprus Republic. Greek Cypriots fear a two-state deal would entrench Turkish control potentially over the entire island as well as hydrocarbon deposits off its shores. Peace talks have been at a standstill since the last bid to reach at an reunification agreement collapsed in the summer of 2017.
wftv.comUS, Egypt tackle myriad irritants in strategic talks
Egypt has long feared the project will severely impact the flow of Nile waters key to agriculture. On human rights, Blinken said the administration welcomed the launch of an Egyptian national human rights strategy but said the effort would be judged by its results. “Making tangible and lasting improvements on human rights is essential to strengthening our bilateral relationship and the United States will continue to support those efforts however we can,” he said. The U.S. has complained about Egypt’s human rights record for years and the Biden administration has withheld $130 million in military aid to the country pending improvements. ""We also believe that human rights are an interdependent whole, which necessitates that we dedicate equal attention to political rights and civil liberties and economic and social rights," he said.
wftv.comEgypt leader, Biden adviser hold talks on regional tensions
Egypt US White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, seated second right, meets with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and their delegations at the foreign ministry, in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) (Nariman El-Mofty)CAIRO — (AP) — President Joe Biden’s national security adviser held talks Wednesday with Egypt’s president that focused on regional tensions and the ties between Washington and its Mideast ally, the Egyptian leader’s office said. The meeting in Cairo with Jake Sullivan came as the Biden administration presses Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi's government to stop his crackdown on dissent. The U.S. announced earlier this month it would withhold $130 million in military aid to Egypt over human rights concerns. The Biden administration sees the dam dispute as potential flashpoint in the turbulent Horn of Africa but has sought to take a back seat to the African Union in finding a resolution.
wftv.comMediating in Gaza conflict, Egypt seeks broader influence
Egypt Israel Palestinians Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, right, meets with Palestinian Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmad at the foreign ministry in Cairo, Thursday, May 20, 2021. It’s the latest instance in which Egypt has served as a mediator between Israel and Gaza’s ruling militant Hamas group. Egypt borders both Israel and the Gaza Strip, and has been a key player since Israel withdrew troops from Gaza in 2005 and Hamas seized the territory in 2007. A diplomatic win could also gain Egypt some regional prestige in its rivalries, including with Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Shaath is the son of Nabil Shaath, an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
wftv.comUS: Human rights will be 'central' to relations with Egypt
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration on Tuesday told Egypt that human rights will be “central” to its policy in dealing with the key Arab state and major American partner in the Middle East. It was not immediately clear how the new emphasis on human rights would manifest itself. The Trump administration had largely given Egypt's leadership a pass on human rights. Ad“The secretary raised concerns over human rights, which he emphasized would be central to the U.S.-Egypt bilateral relationship, and Egypt’s potential procurement of Su-35 fighter aircraft from Russia,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. However, rights groups accused authorities of targeting families of activists and rights defenders living abroad, in an apparent attempt to intimidate critics.
Greece, Egypt seeks Biden role in East Mediterranean dispute
Greece and Egypt are at odds with Turkey in a volatile maritime boundary dispute in the eastern Mediterranean over rights to search for and exploit natural gas deposits. The dispute between Greece and Turkey triggered a major military buildup over the summer that raised concerns of military confrontation. In August, Greece and Egypt signed a maritime deal demarcating the two countries’ maritime boundaries and setting out respective exclusive economic zones for the exploitation of resources such as oil and gas drilling. The agreement, which remains partial, angered Turkey, which has accused Greece of trying to grab an unfair share of resources in the eastern Mediterranean. Greece, Cyprus and Egypt widely criticized the deal between Ankara and Tripoli, saying it infringed on their economic rights.