‘Egypt to keep working to help Palestinians’

Egyptian leader rules out exposing Egyptians to danger

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said on Saturday that his administration did not take decisions that expose Egypt or Egyptians to danger.

“My views have not changed,” the president Said. “From the very beginning, I said hard work and perseverance are the solution,” he added.

Addressing hundreds of dignitaries, army officers and family members of the martyrs of the Egyptian army, the president added that the government’s latest decision to adopt a flexible exchange rate would have not been possible without securing a significant amount of funding.

The seminar came on the occasion of the Day of the Martyr, an event that commemorates the officers and the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to defend their country.

Organised by the Egyptian army’s Morale Affairs Administration, featured talk by some of the injured officers and soldiers of the Egyptian army as well as by some of the family members of the army’s martyr’s.

The president said between $45 and $50 billion would flow in from investment deals, including the Ras El Hekma development project with the United Arab Emirates.

The president also referred to the recently expanded $8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

He said he had previously refused to permit the free flotation of the national currency last year for national security reasons.

A large amount of funding, he said, was needed to regulate the market.

The president explained that challenging economic conditions faced by Egyptians, particularly over the past four years, were not a result of risky decisions by his administration.

He attributed these conditions to the repercussions of unexpected global and regional events since 2020, including Covid-19, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the war in Gaza.

The war in Gaza, he said, has posed a major threat to Egypt and the entire region.

He called on Egyptians to work diligently and exercise patience to overcome these conditions.

Such an approach, the president said, is the only viable way forward.

The Egyptian leader added that the government has not squandered the money of the Egyptian people in any corrupt manner.

“All projects over the past years have been carried out with full transparency,” the president.

He described these projects as a ‘major achievement’, given tough conditions in Egypt since 2011.

He noted, however, that states need more than just a decade to achieve remarkable development.

“It takes countries 75 years to become developed,” the president said.

He noted that he had never pledged that things would improve in just one year or ten.

He pointed out that other countries have experienced several difficulties, including famines and the loss of millions of people annually.

Speaking on the war on Gaza, the president said Egypt is always keen that the Rafah crossing remains open 24 hours every day to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“We will never close it,” the president.

He added Egypt has resorted to dropping aid by air due to the challenges associated with the entry of the aid by land.

He threw light on the restrictions imposed by Israel that have delayed the delivery of aid.

President Sisi reiterated Egypt’s rejection of the displacement of the Palestinians into Sinai.

He said Egyptians cannot betray the Palestinians.

He underscored the fact that Sinai is an Egyptian territory and that Egyptians are responsible for protecting it.

“These are our borders as they have been for thousands of years,” the president said. “We will not abandon it.”

He noted that Gaza’s reconstruction would cost a whopping $90 billion.

“Egypt will not hesitate to continue working towards achieving a ceasefire, delivering aid, and providing relief to the afflicted from this immense catastrophe,” the Egyptian leader said.

“Egypt will not cease its efforts, regardless of the cost, to ensure that the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights in their independent state,” he said.