President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi stressed Saturday the necessity of maintaining Egyptian national security, defending the country, and not allowing threats to the country’s security and stability, presidency spokesperson Bassam Rady said in a statement.
During his participation in the 28th cultural symposium of the Egyptian Armed Forces on the occasion of the annual celebration of Sinai Liberation Day, Al-Sisi praised the great efforts that were conducted to rebuild the Egyptian Armed Forces after the 1967 war.
He also praised the role of former president Anwar Al-Sadat and his courage in making decisions of war and peace, particularly amid the obstacles that the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel had faced. The president also said that the main challenge for Egypt now is to maintain the cohesion of the state and its people’s unity, according to the statement.
At the beginning of the symposium, Al-Sisi and the attendees watched a documentary dubbed “Sinai…legend of place and epic of a nation.” The documentary reviewed efforts of the armed forces during the war period, as well as the current efforts for developing Sinai. It also reviewed the outcomes of the extensive armed operation dubbed Sinai 2018 and efforts for countering militancy.
During his speech before the symposium, Ibrahim Mahlab, assistant to the president for strategic and national projects, reviewed the economic potentials of Sinai. He also pointed out that the state aims at establishing new cities and agricultural, touristic, and industrial communities in the peninsula. Mahlab added that the national project for developing Sinai costs about EGP 275bn.
The symposium was attended by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Minister of Defence Sedki Sobhi, Egyptian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohamed Farid, and a number of other military leaders and public figures.
