Sisi, Ramaphosa discuss African efforts to fight coronavirus

CAIRO – 13 May 2020: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi discussed the African joint efforts to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as he held a phone call with South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday, the Egyptian Presidency said.

This comes while Egypt has so far recorded over 10,000 coronavirus cases and more than 500 deaths, while South Africa reported more than 11,000 cases and over 200 deaths, according to official figures. In Africa, around 70,000 people contracted the virus and more than 2,400 died, according to some figures.

During the phone call, Sisi and Ramaphosa, whose country chairs the African Union this year, discussed the need to continue the African joint efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus and contain its economic and social implications on African states.

They also agreed on the need to provide medical assistance, mainly through taking advantage of the available resources related to the AU, including the fund that has been established to support the needs of the African states to fight coronavirus.

Sisi also affirmed that counter-terrorism efforts in the continent should also continue amid the battle against coronavirus.

They also discussed the importance of enhancing relations between the two countries in various fields. Sisi highlighted Egypt’s keenness to continue fostering the long-standing ties with South Africa on the continental and international levels.

Ramaphosa expressed his appreciation for the Egyptian leadership and people and hailed the continuous development in bilateral relations.

Ethiopia asks for South Africa's mediation in Renaissance Dam talks

CAIRO - 12 January 2020: Two days ahead of the Washington meeting for the foreign and water ministers of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Ethiopia asked for South African mediation in the controversial dam file.

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This comes as 338 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Egypt recently, bringing the total number of cases to 10,431, the Health Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, amid calls for imposing a total curfew during the coming weeks.

The ministry also reported 12 deaths due to the novel virus, bringing the total number to 556. World Health Organization’s representative in Egypt John Jabbour said in mid-April WHO is looking at the cause of the high coronavirus rate of deaths in the northeastern African country.

Also, the test results of 2,980 people turned from positive to negative, the ministry said, including 2,486 people who totally recovered. It added that 160 patients left hospitals.