Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi was received by Emmanuel Macron in Paris

The visit was announced the day before without fanfare or trumpet: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi was at the Elysee Palace on Friday 22 July. He first spoke one-on-one with Emmanuel Macron, and lunch extended to their entourage.

Their meeting, since the head of state’s re-election, has been keen to tighten ever-closer ties with his opponent to see better weight in the region. For his part, from Berlin and Belgrade, Mr. Al-Sissi is stepping up his campaign against global warming in preparation for his country’s COP27 in November.

The visit is part of a series of meetings in Paris with various leaders of the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Yair LapidJuly 5. On Monday, July 18, the head of state also received Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates. He had lunch with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday, days after the meeting Between him and the President of the United StatesJoe Biden, July 15 in Bethlehem.

Each time, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, which has monopolized Europeans for five months, the aim is to address the impact of the conflict, particularly in terms of food and energy. Egypt is heavily dependent on grain imports from Ukraine and could benefit from the lifting of the blockade of Black Sea ports, if an agreement between Moscow and Kiev signed in Istanbul on Friday is well implemented.

Concern over the fate of Alaa Abdel Fattah

The idea is to avoid a new escalation in the region, especially if talks on Iran’s nuclear program, which have been stalled for months, fail and Tehran and Washington fail to agree on final deterrence points. Head of French Diplomacy, Catherine ColonnaHe warned in this regard “Time was running out” Many Iranians are multiplying “stretching maneuvers”, A draft compromise has been on the table since February, in danger of running out of substance.

Like Mohammed Ben Said, along with his Egyptian counterpart, Mr. Macron raised the idea of ​​organizing a new regional conference, if possible, by the end of the year. In August 2021 model of Baghdad. The meeting allowed Iranian and Saudi representatives to sit at the same table, an attempt to broaden the relationship between the two rival powers. “Many leaders in the region have appreciated this design and are willing to replicate it,” They say in Elysee.

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