Arab leaders discuss food security at summit in Egypt
On the second day of the Arab summit in the Egyptian city of El-Alamein, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, Egypt's Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Bahrain's Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi held talks on food security at the Egyptian summit, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, held a series of meetings in which they discussed food and energy security as one of the main challenges in the region in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The purpose of the meeting was to strengthen cooperation between the five Arab countries in order to foster Arab unity at a time when the region is facing multiple challenges. The food crisis, rising prices, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the increase in violence in Palestine, in addition to the current war in Libya and Yemen, have been the causes that have led these countries to meet with the aim of joining forces in an assembly that the Egyptian government has described as a 'consultative summit'.
Along these lines, the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, thanked the leaders of Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq for having travelled to Egypt to continue working on joint diplomacy. President al-Sisi acknowledged the "depth of fraternal bilateral ties" that bind the Arab countries and "their peoples" based on the bonds of "brotherhood, compassion, respect and mutual interests".
Also during the visit, the Arab leaders were introduced to the new five-star Regals Height hotel built in the Egyptian resort city, in a presentation that was rounded off by a fireworks display and parachute acrobatics.
While Egypt continues to forge closer ties with these 'friends and allies', conflicts such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have deepened the rift between Cairo and Tel Aviv. In addition to Egypt's important diplomacy and economic aid in areas such as the Gaza Strip, the Israeli government fears that Egypt's role as mediator will be undermined by the escalation of violence.
In this context, Egypt's mediation has succeeded in curbing the escalation of violence by Islamic Jihad, as well as playing an important role in rebuilding Gaza. According to Defence Minister Benny Gantz in an interview with Israel's official broadcasting corporation, there is currently "a crisis with Cairo (...) there are days of tension as a result of the end of Operation Dawn, we hope that the crisis will pass in the coming days".
He further stressed that "Egypt is a significant regional player and one of Israel's most important friends. There are times when there are fluctuations between the two countries and the two sides will find a way to restore stability".
These statements come after the head of Israel's General Security Service, known as the Shin Bet, visited Cairo to prevent the situation from deteriorating further. After this visit, he was scheduled to travel to the West Bank and Tel Aviv, but this did not take place due to disagreements in a gesture of rejection of Israel's actions against the Palestinian population.
Clashes between the Israeli and Palestinian sides have continued throughout the year, even if they have become more spaced out over time. New waves of violence in the Gaza Strip in the framework of Operation Dawn have been preceded by multiple evictions of Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, violent clashes in the Esplanade of the Mosques, as well as new Israeli incursions into Palestinian territories. All this has generated a new climate of tension between some Arab countries and Israel, which has led them to hold several joint summits to condemn Israeli action, despite the fact that several of them maintain relations with Israel, such as the Emirates and Bahrain, the fruit of the Abraham Accords.