Egypt court sides against government in Saudi islands case

[Hindustani78]

APPublished Nov 8, 2016, 7:37 pm IST

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/worl...against-government-in-saudi-islands-case.html


The verdict comes amid tension between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, traditional allies who are now at odds over regional conflicts.


Cairo: An Egyptian court has upheld a ruling by a lower tribunal that annulled President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi's decision to transfer two strategic islands to Saudis.

The government had appealed the lower court's decision from June before three separate courts. Tuesday's ruling came from one of the three, the Administrative Court of the State Council. The other two have yet to rule in the case.

The verdict comes amid tension between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, traditional allies who are now at odds over regional conflicts.

The government has defended the deal saying the islands of Tiran and Sanafir always belonged to the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia, which poured billions of dollars in aid to Egypt since el-Sissi rose to power, this week indefinitely halted previously agreed fuel shipments to Egypt.

 

[azzo]

Egyptian court is just a mouthpiece for sisi, one time its Saudi, the other Egyptian.
Anyway, the sisi signed and also said that it's Saudi. We don't care about egyptian internal conflicts about thr issue. We have international law to go to.

 

[Hell NO]

Egyptian court is just a mouthpiece for sisi, one time its Saudi, the other Egyptian.
Anyway, the sisi signed and also said that it's Saudi. We don't care about egyptian internal conflicts about thr issue. We have international law to go to.

Sissies signature means nothing as it's not final two thirds of the parliament have to vote in favour for it to be a valid signature.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1114461/middle-east

JEDDAH: An agreement for Cairo to hand over two Red Sea islands — Tiran and Sanafir — to Saudi Arabia passed an Egyptian parliamentary committee Tuesday, setting the stage for a vote in the house.

Parliament’s legislative committee agreed the treaty after a debate, according to an AFP report.

Parliament’s Defense Committee will also examine the accord before it goes to a general vote. The government has said the islands were Saudi to begin with, but were leased to Egypt in the 1950s.

Opponents of the agreement insist that Tiran and Sanafir are Egyptian. Cairo had made the goodwill gesture on the islands during King Salman’s visit to Egypt in April, 2016.

The Egyptian Cabinet had said that the “determination that the two islands fall within Saudi regional waters is the culmination of a six-year process of studies and 11 rounds of negotiations between the two sides.”

The joint Egyptian-Saudi technical maritime border drawing had determined that the islands fell within regional Saudi maritime waters.

 

[Ceylal]

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1114461/middle-east

JEDDAH: An agreement for Cairo to hand over two Red Sea islands — Tiran and Sanafir — to Saudi Arabia passed an Egyptian parliamentary committee Tuesday, setting the stage for a vote in the house.

Parliament’s legislative committee agreed the treaty after a debate, according to an AFP report.

Parliament’s Defense Committee will also examine the accord before it goes to a general vote. The government has said the islands were Saudi to begin with, but were leased to Egypt in the 1950s.

Opponents of the agreement insist that Tiran and Sanafir are Egyptian. Cairo had made the goodwill gesture on the islands during King Salman’s visit to Egypt in April, 2016.

The Egyptian Cabinet had said that the “determination that the two islands fall within Saudi regional waters is the culmination of a six-year process of studies and 11 rounds of negotiations between the two sides.”

The joint Egyptian-Saudi technical maritime border drawing had determined that the islands fell within regional Saudi maritime waters.

Sad day for Egypt! She was dismembered by her parliament and her tyrant...and made her the Sauds call girl...

 

[The SC]

On a more positive note, regardless to whom the two Islands belong:

Saudi Arabia and Egypt announce Red Sea bridge


Saudi Arabia's king has announced that a bridge linking the country to Egypt will be built over the Red Sea.

King Salman said in a statement that the bridge would boost commerce between the two allies.

He made the announcement during the second day of his visit to the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have supported Egypt with billions of dollars since President Sisi took power in 2013 following mass street protests.

Saudi Arabia regards Egypt as a crucial partner in efforts to build a bloc of friendly Sunni Muslim states as a bulwark against growing regional influence of Shia-led Iran.

King Salman's visit comes amid recent strains in the relationship, with President Sisi taking a less hardline stance against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Riyadh seeking more support from Cairo for its war against rebels in Yemen.

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said the bridge would be named after the Saudi king.

"I agreed with my brother his Excellency President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to build a bridge connecting the two countries" the king said.

"This historic step to connect the two continents, Africa and Asia, is a qualitative transformation that will increase trade between the two continents to unprecedented levels" he added.

President Sisi said it marked "a new chapter on the road of Arab joint action".

A Red Sea bridge linking the two countries has been proposed several times before but has failed to become a reality.

Previous estimates for the bridge project suggested a cost of around $3-4bn (£2-3bn), but no further information has yet been released for the latest plan.

King Salman is currently on a five-day visit to Egypt, where he is expected to announce more trade and co-operation agreements.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35999557

 

[kris]

Good infrastructure project

 

[EmeraldRabbit]

Oh can't they just arrest and judges and lawyers involved like they do in Bahrain?

 

[HAIDER]

Who used to own these Island. What's Isreali interest in the Islands.. ?

https://counterjihadreport.com/2016...ave-written-consent-to-saudi-island-transfer/

 

[Hindustani78]

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivers a speech in Cairo, in this September 6, 2014 handout courtesy of the Egyptian Presidency. | Photo Credit: Reuters

http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...a-islands-to-saudi-arabia/article19142019.ece


Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ratified a maritime demarcation agreement that sees his country cede sovereignty over two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, the government said in a statement on Saturday.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world...audi-arabia/story-F2mZ31vMPzdzk6SWjE1myL.html

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday ratified an agreement that cedes sovereignty over two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, brushing off widespread public criticism of the deal.

The Red Sea islands accord has become politically-sensitive for Sisi. He counts on Saudi Arabia as a key ally, but street protests broke out over the agreement last year among Egyptians angered over the concession.

Egypt’s parliament last week backed the deal handing control of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia, but it has also become the subject of a legal tussle between different courts over jurisdiction.

“President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ratified the maritime demarcation agreement between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the cabinet said in a statement.

The announcement was made just as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends and on the eve of Eid al-Fitr festivities, a major public holiday when Egyptians are busy preparing to spend time with their families.

The presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Government lawyer Rafiq Sharif told Reuters the decree was now law and the two uninhabited islands were under Saudi sovereignty.

All court decisions on the agreement were temporarily suspended this week by the head of the constitutional court, until it makes a ruling on which institution had the final say.

Parliamentary leaders and government lawyers say the House of Representatives is the only entity allowed to rule on sovereignty. But in June last year the country’s highest administrative court ruled Egypt’s sovereignty must stand.

Sisi’s government announced the maritime agreement last year with Saudi Arabia, an ally which has given billions of dollars of aid to Egypt. The Egyptian and Saudi governments said the islands are Saudi but have been subject to Egyptian protection.

Saudi Arabia had helped Sisi since he toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013, and legal wrangling over the Red Sea deal was a source of tensions between the two countries.

National pride

After last year’s administrative court ruling, Saudi Arabia temporarily halted fuel shipments to Egypt, part of its aid deal. At the time, both sides denied any political fallout was involved and relations have since improved.

“The transfer has been a long time coming; Riyadh has made it clear they expect the islands and Cairo agreed,” said HA Hellyer, senior non-resident fellow at American think tank Atlantic Council.

“But considering the amount of opposition to the transfer, the speed at which it happened is instructive. It shows Sisi’s administration doesn’t feel there is much of a risk to be taken.”

Still, Egyptians are increasingly critical over the state of the country’s economy after years of political upheaval and a devaluation, tax rises and subsidy cuts introduced by Sisi’s government.

The islands issue touched a patriotic nerve, bringing thousands of protesters to the streets in April chanting “people want the fall of the regime”, a slogan little heard since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.

Those rallies were one of the first signals the former general no longer enjoyed the broad public support that let him round up thousands of opponents after he seized power.

“Now that the president has ratified it, the agreement is a law,” said Khaled Ali, chief lawyer defending the case for the islands being Egyptian and a former presidential candidate.

“So we will continue the legal battle to show that it is unconstitutional and void.”

 

[Hindustani78]

'
Riyadh, October 24, 2017 19:43 IST
Updated: October 24, 2017 19:45 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...-investment/article19912905.ece?homepage=true

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Masayoshi Son, SoftBank Group Corp. Chairman and CEO, Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, and Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, Saudi Arabia Minister of State, attend the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 24, 2017. | Photo Credit: Reuters


Announces a new $500 billion city, development of islands where rules on gender segregation and women’s dress may not apply, among others
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday announced plans for a new $500 billion city to be built in the country’s northwest coast.

The project, dubbed ‘Neom’, will be built on untouched land along the country’s Red Sea coastline near Egypt and Jordan. The ambitious project could lead the way in the use of drones, driverless cars and robotics.

The economic zone is to be built through financial backing from the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the government of Saudi Arabia, as well as private and international investors. The city would be run entirely on alternative energy sources and “push the boundaries of innovation,” according to a statement released on the opening day of the conference.

Prince Mohammed announced the project at a major investment conference in Riyadh aimed at shining a spotlight on the country’s efforts to overhaul its economy and society after being jolted into action following a plunge in oil prices that threatened the kingdom’s main source of revenue and its long-term stability.

World’s largest sovereign wealth fund

The conference, dubbed the Future Investment Initiative, is being hosted by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. The event is being attended by giants in the business world and top Saudi officials.

At the heart of the conference are Saudi reform efforts to transform its sovereign wealth fund into the world’s largest. The kingdom hopes to do this by listing less than 5% of state-owned oil giant Aramco on the Saudi stock exchange and an international exchange, and transferring ownership of Aramco to PIF.

Saudi Arabia says this could put some $2 trillion under PIF’s control — double that of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which is currently the world’s largest. It’s unclear exactly how much PIF currently controls. Analysts have also suggested Aramco’s market value could be half of the government’s projection.

Recently, reports emerged that Saudi Arabia was considering holding off on the international portion of the IPO in favor of a private offering from a key investor like China. Saudi officials, however, insist Aramco is on track for listings as early as next year.

PIF managing director Yasir al-Rumayyan, who is also on the board of Aramco, addressed those concerns at the forum in Riyadh on Tuesday. “Everything in on track, 2018 is our target. There is nothing that I know about which can take us off track,” he said.

‘Headline-grabbing’ international investments

Despite possible delays to the Aramco listing, PIF has steamed ahead with its own headline-grabbing international investments, including $3.5 billion in ride-hailing service Uber last year. It’s also joined forces with Japan’s Softbank and other leading technology and investment funds to create a massive fund to invest in technologies like artificial intelligence.

Mr. Al-Rumayyan said on Tuesday that PIF was contributing $20 billion to a $50 billion health care and real estate fund with U.S. private equity firm Blackstone. The Saudi fund already has $20 billion invested in a U.S.-focused infrastructure fund with Blackstone.

It’s a start departure from the past four decades, when PIF invested mainly in domestic companies.

New projects at home

At home, PIF is embarking on a number of new projects.

Aside from Neom, the other plan backed by PIF is the development of semi-autonomous islands off of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, where the kingdom’s ultraconservative rules on gender segregation and women’s dress will likely not apply. Virgin Group’s founder Richard Branson, who’s scheduled to speak at the investment forum Thursday, recently visited some of the kingdom’s future tourist destinations.

The fund is also creating a company to build new hotels and prime real estate around Muslim holy sites in Mecca and Medina. It launched an entertainment investment company to cater to the needs of Saudi Arabia’s youth and oversee the development of a Six Flags theme park outside the capital, Riyadh.

All of these projects are aimed at creating tens of thousands of jobs for young Saudis. Over the next decade, an estimated five million young Saudis will enter the workforce, creating an urgent need for the government to support rapid job creation.

The crown prince

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who chairs PIF, is seen as the force behind these rapid reforms. A key marker of the changes taking place was the kingdom’s decision last month to lift the ban on women driving. That decision is expected to boost the economy by freeing up money women spend on drivers and transportation. It also gives women greater mobility to work, which could boost household incomes.

The 32-year-old prince’s Vision 2030 is a blueprint that lays out specific targets to wean Saudi Arabia off of what he’s said is its “addiction to oil”. The transformation of PIF is critical to Vision 2030 and the government’s ability to spend big on major projects.

To keep the fiscal deficit in check amid these changes, the government has tried to rein in spending and raise revenue through the introduction of taxes and the lifting of subsidies.

Currently, most Saudis hold jobs with the government. The public sector wage bill eats up about half of the government’s total expenditure. As part of Vision 2030, the government plans to trim the public sector workforce by about 20 percent while spurring enough jobs in the private sector to keep up with demand.

“That poses enormous challenges for the Saudi government,” said Middle East economist at Capital Economics Jason Tuvey.

 

[Hindustani78]

https://www.hindustantimes.com/worl...oreign-tour/story-UhF9bzVJHi78GevTBkzS5J.html

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince lands in Egypt on Sunday on the first leg of his maiden foreign tour as heir to the throne, a diplomatic charm offensive that follows his stunning rise to power.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s two-day visit to Cairo on Wednesday for talks and the United States visit during March 19-22.

The trips are aimed partly at courting investors and come after a tumultuous period that saw a major military shake-up and a royal purge, part of the prince’s sweeping power play that has shaken business confidence.

The son of Saudi King Salman is already seen as the country’s de facto ruler controlling the major levers of government.

His visit to Cairo, a key regional ally, comes before Egypt’s presidential polls in late March, with incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expected to win a second four-year term.

“Prince Mohammed’s visit will be interpreted as proof of Saudi support for Sisi to remain as the president of Egypt in the coming term,” Mostafa Kamel al-Sayed, a political science professor at Cairo University, told AFP.

Egypt is part of a Saudi-led military coalition which intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to fight Iran-backed Houthi rebels, a conflict that the United Nations says has engendered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt are also part of a bloc of nations that has boycotted Syrian Regime over alleged ties to Islamic extremists and Iran. Qatar denies the accusations.

A Saudi government source said Prince Mohammed’s choice of Egypt for his maiden overseas trip as crown prince “reaffirms Saudi-Egyptian cooperation at the highest level”.

Talks would cover regional rival Iran, the conflict in Yemen, counter-terrorism and energy cooperation, the source said.


‘Uncertainty and turbulence’

The diplomatic offensive comes as Prince Mohammed, a self-styled moderniser who has sought to project a liberal image of Saudi Arabia to investors, consolidates power to a level unseen by previous rulers.

A dramatic shake-up announced on Monday saw military top brass, including the chief of staff and heads of the ground forces and air defence, replaced.

Prince Mohammed’s reshuffle came after he sidelined political rivals to become heir to the throne last June and orchestrated a royal anti-corruption purge in November that saw princes, ministers and tycoons locked up in Riyadh’s luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel for nearly three months.

“His first trip as crown prince is symbolically a moment for the young Saudi ruler to try to put Riyadh’s best foot forward on the world stage,” Andrew Bowen, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, told AFP.

“It comes at a time of uncertainty and turbulence at home and he has an upward task of both selling to the business community that Saudi is a stable and safe place to do business and that he has a steady hand on foreign policy despite Syria and Yemen. This certainly won’t be an easy sell.”

The U.S. government said Prince Mohammed’s visit will help enhance cooperation in tackling challenges such as “terrorism, extremism, the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Yemen”.

But some protests are expected during his visit over the West supplying Saudi Arabia with arms despite the kingdom’s role in the crisis gripping Yemen, said Mohamed Abdelmeguid, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

‘Competitive rivalry’

The crown prince’s visit to the US in late March, which a Saudi government source said could include multiple cities, would highlight the Trump administration’s efforts to sign a nuclear cooperation accord with Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh is expected to announce this year who will build the first two of up to 16 reactors, and negotiations are under way with the US for its agreement to export technology needed for their construction.

Another key focus could be the Aramco initial public offering. The kingdom is preparing to sell under 5% of its state-owned oil giant, the crown jewel of the Saudi economy, in what is expected to be the world’s largest ever IPO.

“Prince Mohammed may seek to foster a competitive rivalry with UK government desperate to attract Saudi investment to offset the Brexit chaos and his US hosts, particularly over the Aramco IPO,” said Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in the US.

President Donald Trump hosted Prince Mohammed in March 2017, just weeks after taking office, and he chose Saudi Arabia for his first official overseas visit as president.

Saudi Arabia has grown close to its long-time ally US under Trump, whose harder line on Iran and softer stance on arms sales are a welcome shift in policy for Riyadh.

 

[Hindustani78]

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plane was escorted by Egyptian fighter jets when it entered the country ‘s airspace on Sunday.

Footage shows the fighter jets flanking the crown prince’s aircraft as it entered the country’s airspace, which is considered a sign of respect and welcoming.



CAIRO: Egypt gave a warm welcome to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday during a visit to the Suez Canal on the second day of his three-day trip.

The prince and el-Sisi traveled through one of the new tunnels being built under the canal, before boarding a boat from a red-carpeted dock as a military band played fanfare.

Cairo wants to establish an international transport, logistics and production hub.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi tour the Suez Canal. (SPA)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi tour the Suez Canal. (SPA)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi tour the Suez Canal. (SPA)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi tour the Suez Canal. (SPA)

The two are also expected to discuss the ongoing wars in Syria and Yemen, as well as their joint boycott of Syrian regime , which they accuse of fomenting extremism across the region.

Construction of the 50-kilometer bridge was announced during King Salman’s visit to Egypt in 2016. The bridge will help pilgrims, tourists and expatriate workers to travel easily between the countries and offer a significant improvement in trade between the two countries.

The bridge is also expected to boost energy links. Dr. Jamal Al-Kalioubi, a professor of petroleum and energy engineering, said the bridge would be one of the important ways to secure the oil and gas needs of neighboring Arab countries.

The Egyptian government announced on Thursday that it had agreed with Saudi Aramco to supply 500,000 barrels per month of crude oil to the Egyptian refineries for six months from January to June. The Saudi National Oil Company had already provided oil to the Egyptian refineries in November and December 2017 on a trial basis.

During King Salman’s 2016 visit to Egypt, Riyadh agreed to supply Cairo with 700,000 tons of refined oil products per month for five years.

King Salman witnessed the signing of 21 agreements and investment memorandums of understanding between the two countries, most notably for the establishment of a free trade area in northern Sinai, which is the first important economic project linked to the construction of the bridge.