The media this week focused on the importance of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi's visit to Oman. Emadeddin Adeeb noted that Oman is a state that has a history and a civilisation that dates back to the third century BC. Its geopolitical location has given Oman a strategic importance in the region, Adeeb wrote. Thus, it has always taken stands that prioritise its interests without involving itself in confrontational situations or conflicts. Sticking to that independent status, he added, the sultanate did not bow to Baghdad summit calls to cut all ties with Egypt or join the Saudi-Emirati-Bahraini axis in boycotting Qatar. “Knocking on Omani doors is an extremely important strategic move to ensure the security of the Red Sea and the Suez Canal at a time when there are frightening developments in Somalia, Djibouti and other brotherly states,” Adeeb wrote in the daily Al-Watan. The editorial of the daily Al-Ahram said the important visit -- the first since Al-Sisi came to power -- comes within the framework of the special relations between the two states and that of the wise Omani policy that acts as a “bridge for understanding” and works to resolve inter-Arab differences rather than escalate them. Egyptian foreign policy, added the editorial, matches Omani policy in working to ease tension in the region and looking for political solutions to crises since military solutions have proven to cause destruction in the region and open doors for external interference. “The visit presents a chance to coordinate between the two countries, to work ‘quietly' to bridge diverse viewpoints and ease differences with neighbouring countries, especially Iran,” the edit said. In addition, the meeting between President Al-Sisi and Sultan Qaboos is likely to enhance bilateral cooperation, remove the obstacles facing Egyptian labour in the sultanate as well as help in studying the projects that Egypt wants to establish in Oman and those that Muscat wants to start in Egypt, it concluded. The fall of an elevator in Banha University Hospital left seven people dead and many in shock and agony. Mahmoud Saadeddin questioned how corruption could mushroom the way it has. In the daily Al-Youm Al-Sabei Saadeddin said the reason for the collapse, according to a fact-finding report, was “erosion as a result of rust” in addition to a fault in the design of the concrete poles that hold the lift, something that showed how corruption is spreading in our country. However, the catastrophe, Saadeddin added, is that more accidents are likely to happen because other lifts have the same technical problems. Thus, they (and their occupants) can meet the same fate in the near future. “The fact-finding report is a clear embodiment of all levels of corruption, from bribery to negligence, falsification and refraining from revealing the truth.” By George Ayoub, Al-Masry Al-Youm Banha lift: Proof of negligence “Who's next?”
