Al-Sisi in Hungary PRESIDENT Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi made an official visit to Budapest, Hungary, to participate in the Visegrad Group Summit, the first participation by a Middle Eastern and African country and the third country worldwide following Japan and Germany. The Visgrade Group was formed in 1991 and includes Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary with the aim of working together in a number of fields of common interest within the framework of all-European integration. During his three-day visit Al-Sisi held meetings with Hungarian President Janos Ader, the prime minister and House speaker to discuss ways of boosting bilateral cooperation in various fields as well as regional and international issues of common interest. Al-Sisi presented Egypt's strategy to combat terrorism to Ader. On Monday Al-Sisi and Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban held a press conference following their meeting which was the third since Al-Sisi assumed office in 2014. During the press conference, Al-Sisi said Egypt's fight against terrorism guarantees Europe's security and stability, stressing the importance of international cooperation against terrorism-sponsoring states. Orban expressed his country's respect for Egypt's ongoing war against terrorism saying that Europe should help in preserving Egypt's political and economic stability. As for regional matters Al-Sisi also discussed the issue of refugees, stressing the necessity of putting an end to disputes that displace millions in the region, especially in Libya and Syria. The president also highlighted the importance of reaching a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict which he said should play a pivotal role in resolving crises in the Middle East. Speaking on Egypt's economic reform programme, Al-Sisi said Egyptians have faced recent severe economic measures with understanding. He asserted that there is no discrimination based on religion and that it is the state's duty to keep all citizens safe. The meetings included talks on cooperation in transportation and supporting the development of Egyptian railways. Egypt's Transport Minister Hisham Arafat was part of the Egyptian delegation accompanying the president. On Monday Al-Sisi visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Budapest at the start of his visit. In parallel, the House of Representatives passed a presidential decree approving a June 2016 agreement to operate flights between Egypt and Hungary. Moreover, Al-Sisi attended the Egyptian-Hungarian business forum where he invited Hungarian companies to invest in Egypt, particularly in energy, agriculture, water treatment, manufacturing, railways and infrastructure. The forum was attended by Egyptian and Hungarian companies which provided an opportunity to promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. Al-Sisi had paid a visit to Hungary in 2015. In this regard, Tarek Kabil, minister of trade and industry, said last week that Al-Sisi's previous visit to Hungary contributed to boosting economic relations and trade movement between Cairo and Budapest. In figures, Kabil said Egypt's exports to Hungary increased 198 per cent in the first quarter of 2017, hitting 15.3 million euros compared to 5.14 million euros during the same period a year earlier. Egyptian exports to Hungary are cotton, vegetables, cement and carpets while it imports from Hungary glass, aluminum and electric equipment. In 2014, Egypt became the first Arab trade partner with Hungary. Hungarian investments in Egypt, represented by 58 companies, recorded $41.45 million in the first quarter of the year according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Kerdasa verdicts TWENTY people have been sentenced to death for their involvement in an attack on Kerdasa Police Station in August 2013 in which 12 policemen were killed, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported. Cairo Criminal Court also handed life sentences to 80 defendants, 15-year terms to 35 defendants and acquitted another 21. The convicted have the right to appeal to the Court of Cassation. In April, the court issued a preliminary death sentence to the 20 pending non-binding consultative opinion of the country's grand mufti, per Egypt's penal code. The grand mufti concurred with the court's decision to sentence all to death. Prosecutors charged the defendants with storming the Kerdasa Police Station in Giza on 14 August 2013, killing 12 policemen and two civilians and mutilating their bodies, attempting to murder 10 other policemen and destroying the police station. The defendants were also charged with torching several police vehicles and being in possession of heavy firearms during the attack. The attack on the station followed the forced dispersal of sit-ins in support of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in Cairo in August 2013. Satellite channel closed AL-HAYAT Satellite Channel closed down on 3 June and its connection with NileSat was cut due to financial matters. Officials responsible for the channel conducted several phone calls with MP Osama Heikal who is also CEO of the Egyptian City for Media Production (ECMP) to re-broadcast. The channel, which is debt-ridden to ECMP, offered to reschedule its debts but ECMP's administration refused the offer. According to ECMP officials, channel re-broadcasting will only take place when its administration pays at least half of the debts as proof of their good intentions. The administration has reportedly ignored all informal and official warnings asking them to pay their debts. MP Mustafa Bakri complained in parliament about the closure. Bakri said it would send a wrong message to the public as well as abroad. “The closure has puzzled the public. Al-Hayat is one of the major channels which the public follows. Its closure has caused the upset among the public,” said Bakri. He asked the matter be discussed in a public session to reach a solution. Mining for gold EGYPT has announced the results of the first round of bidding for its first international gold and associated minerals tender in Sinai and the Eastern Desert, awarding mining rights to four companies, including two foreign firms. Petroleum Minister Tarek Al-Molla said on Monday that Resolute Egypt won two concessions while British Veritas Mining Limited, Ghassan Spain Investment, and Egypt's East Gas Company each won a concession following a round of bidding in January. Al-Molla added that the ministry considers developing mineral resources a priority with the aim of implementing new strategies to best utilise the country's mineral resources and turn the sector into a major pillar of the Egyptian economy. Centamin, the largest gold mine operator in Egypt which began operations in 1995, said in January that it would not bid on the country's new gold exploration tender because the terms were not commercially practical. Centamin's principal asset is Sukari Mine, a project started in 2007 in the Red Sea city of Marsa Alam, with the first gold bar made in 2009. In 2016, the mine produced 551,036 ounces of gold.
