Sisi echoes Arab people’s hope for united bloc against various blows

CAIRO – 2 November 2022: President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s Wednesday speech at the Arab League Summit in Algiers echoed the hopes of the Arab people for a united bloc that can face political and economic challenges.

The Arab League Summit is an opportunity to summon Arab nationalism and the history of cooperation that redressed those who were wronged and restored stability, as the Arab populations are wondering whatever is holding our nations back from integration and from catching up with the more advanced countries despite our huge assets, Sisi said.

“Our history proves that whatever pains our brothers in the Maghreb will expand to Egypt, the Mashriq, and Gulf states. Instability in the Mashriq and Palestine will have its ramifications on the Maghreb. And any threats to the Gulf is a threat to us all. The Arab national security is an indivisible whole,” the Egyptian president added. 

Arab nations need to adopt an approach that both entrenches the concept of Arab nationalism and the concept of a national state of strong institutions, he continued. 

Sisi elaborated that a national state is one that respects citizenship, human rights, and tolerance. Meanwhile, terrorist organizations and armed militias must be eliminated and any attempts to give them power or use them to give a foreign country power inside the Arab world must be prevented.

At the same time, uniting Arab ranks would guarantee sound relations with regional countries, and an Arab integration of various capabilities would establish a strong wall in the face of regional and international crises, including the crises of food and energy.

Such integration would also protect Arabs from international polarization, which has impacted the outlook on Arab crises and is reminiscent of a historic era in which the entire world suffered, Sisi emphasized.

“Our teamwork and tenacity will always be measured by our progress in the Palestinian cause,” he highlighted.

Further, Arab action is also needed in the issues that came later than the Palestinian issue in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Sudan. Otherwise, these countries will remain prone to the instigation of their troubles and will remain a loophole in the Arab system.

Sisi called for support for Libya to hold parliamentarian and presidential elections as soon as possible, respecting its national institutions, and eliminating militias from its soil.

He also called for support for Arab water security, and to urge Ethiopia to sign a binding agreement on GERD as was recommended in the Security Council statement in September 2021.