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Tuesday, 20 March 2018

Presidential elections are reminiscent of pre-2011 votes

Topping coverage of Egypt in the foreign press this morning was the meeting between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir. Almost all of the papers note the renewed spirit of cooperation on issues, including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, after a prolonged period of strained ties. If you’re not worn out by the talk from the airwaves above, we have the full story in Diplomacy below.

A twofer on the elections from Reuters: The newswire is pressing ahead with its coverage of the presidential election, which John Davidson says is reminiscent of the pre-2011 votes that kept Hosni Mubarak in power for decades. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s main challenge moving forward is the country’s economy, which Davidson notes has eroded the president’s popularity. Meanwhile, El Sisi’s sole opponent has so far been “avoiding the limelight” and shying away from directing any real criticism at the incumbent president, Nadine Awadalla writes. The relatively obscure Moussa Mostafa Moussa has refused interviews by foreign media and has used interviews with local media to repeat his claims that he is “not an extra.”

Buying natural gas from Israel makes sense for Egypt, Robin Mills writes in an opinion piece for Bloomberg. The agreement comes in parallel with new developments locally and covers for future demand. Egypt’s goal of becoming a regional gas hub is also a strategic one, Mills notes. This allows the country “to import, produce, consume and export gas and derive value from shifting between multiple suppliers and customers depending on the best price.” Mills also points out another possibility for Egypt to benefit from the Israeli gas imports: exporting gas to Saudi Arabia, which is short of gas, despite its oil wealth. Saudi Arabia could be a market for suitably relabeled “Egyptian” gas, he suggests.

Finding My Place is “a brutally frank book … peppered with swearing, humour and a willingness to lay bare her lowest moments,” Katherine Fleming writes for The West Australian, reviewing Anne Aly’s book. Aly, who is now an MP in Australia’s Parliament is “a second-born girl child from Egypt.”

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