Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said that the Egyptian Armed Forces faced a real test during the 2011 incidents, which targeted the two wings of the country, the police and army, to bring down the state through a civil war that could eradicate all development opportunities.
Al-Sisi’s remarks came during his inspection of the Sixth Armored Division of the Second Field Army, in Ismailia, on Tuesday.
The Egyptian president highlighted “the challenges faced by the state in the period following the events of 2011 in its fight against terrorism, which took nearly 10 years.”
He said that the Egyptians must celebrate the 51st anniversary of the Armed Forces’ dazzling victory in the 6th of October War, noting that it was a period of intense conflict and hatred in the region. “The October War confirmed that despite the huge difference in capabilities, victory can be achieved.”
The president pointed out that the vision of the Egyptian state during the October War was very far-reaching and was able to transcend its time, its circumstances and the situation that prevailed in the region, stressing that the mission of the armed forces is to preserve the state’s lands and protect its borders and that the Armed Forces, Egyptian institutions and the state itself do not have a hidden agenda towards anyone.
Al-Sisi further said that since the October 1973 War, Egypt has made peace a strategic choice, noting that the current situation in the region confirms that the vision of the peace leaders in Egypt after the 1973 War was brilliant and ahead of its time. He added: “Egypt’s foreign policy is characterised by balance, extreme moderation, and keenness not to fuel conflicts.”
Regarding the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, Al-Sisi said that the Palestinian people have the right to live in an independent state side by side with the State of Israel. “We seek to achieve three goals that have not changed since 7 October 2023, which were a ceasefire, the exchange of detainees, and the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip.”
He pointed out that in the post-war phase, the option was to establish a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and to end a phase of conflict and hatred that Egypt had experienced.
