President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi called on Egyptians to be patient on regarding the government and reminded of an ongoing global economic crisis when he discussed development in Sinai and local and regional security.
Al-Sisi made a phone call to Al-Qahera Al-Youm talk show, hosted by Amr Adeeb, late Monday to discuss the state’s efforts of development in Sinai.
He assigned EGP 10bn a year ago to the army’s Commander of Unified Command for the Area East of the Canal and Counterterrorism, Osama Askar, for the development of Sinai, detailing a number of infrastructure, roads, and housing projects that are set to be completed in a period ranging between a year and a half to two years.
This is Al-Sisi’s second call to the show in five weeks, aired on the private satellite channel Orbit. He said terrorism affects development efforts, pointing to the example of a road expansion in the Gaza bordering North Sinai, which was obstructed by terrorist operations.
“A single terrorist operation by 10-12 terrorists costs the state millions or even billions Egyptian pounds to counter terrorism. We previously said this two and a half years ago,” Al-Sisi said.
Al-Sisi also tackled regional security updates and that he expressed condolences to Tunisian president Beji Caid Essebsi following clashes between the Tunisian army and Islamist militants that resulted in the deaths of 10 security personnel, seven civilians, and 28 militants. He also praised his Tunisian counterpart for his firm stance against terrorism.
“He always stressed the necessity of preserving Libya, in which a gathering occurs. Once an appropriate mass gathers, terrorism groups will spread east, west, and towards Europe as well,” he said.
“Someone could have suggested conducting a pre-emptive operation and enter Libya, but history would have never forgotten that because it is a sovereign state and even if it is in a state of weakness currently we don’t do this to our own people.”
