Al Shindagah

2 | Al Shindagah | Issue 138 CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE ©Shutterstock resident Abdel Fattah el- Sisi’s recent two-day visit to Abu Dhabi to hold talks with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was a testament to the brotherly relations between our two countries and peoples. Our leaders are unfailingly hospitable to guests but the mutual warmth and respect exuded by the Egyptian President and the Crown Prince, who greeted each other like fast friends, was unmistakable. President el-Sisi has characterized the relationship as being “special” and, indeed, it is. The President was visibly touched by the emotionally-charged assurances of a UAE military official Mohammed bin Salem Kurdous Al Ameri who attended the meeting. “We are with you and we will sacrifice for Egypt. We are implementing the will of the late Emirati leader Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed to defend Egypt and sacrifice for it,” he said. “We will sacrifice for you too,” replied the Egyptian leader who has repeatedly asserted that threats to the security of Arab Gulf States is for him “a red line”. Besides the historical close ties established during the rule of the late Sheikh Zayed, since the destructive Brotherhood regime was ousted from Cairo in 2013, Egypt and the Emirates have formed an ironclad economic, diplomatic and strategic partnership based on shared regional interests and security concerns. Prominent on the allies’ to- do list are combating terrorism and the malevolent influence of extremist ideologies. Deterring Iran and its new-found friend Qatar from destabilizing the Arab World and facilitating the political unification of Libya, where division and lawlessness are an invitation to terrorist entities fleeing Syria and Iraq, are high on their agenda. When the chips were down, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait provided substantial financial support to keep the fragile Egyptian economy afloat while the US, the UK and the EU turned their backs. The Egyptian government placed its trust in Emirati economic advisers and the country has benefited from hundreds of projects in the fields of transport, infrastructure, education and health completed under a UAE development assistance program pledged in 2014. Today, the UAE’s investments in Egypt exceed $6bn. A new investment law allowing foreign P share unbreakable bonds The UAE & Egypt Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor • Published in the media on 28 September 2017