This is the second time Sisi attends the UN General Assembly meetings since his election in June 2014.
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Last week, the Egyptian leader pardoned 100 prisoners, including three Al Jazeera journalists who had been slapped with jail terms earlier this month for “spreading false news”. But he said he would only act within his powers as president and would also respect the prerogatives of Egypt’s judiciary.
Sisi pointed out that although Egypt is suffering from different challenges in the energy sector, it managed to adopt several measures that helped contribute to global efforts for standing up to climate change, said the spokesman. There is the problem of the refugees that are flowing into Europe.
In that vein, the Egyptian leader cited what he called an “improving” relationship with the United States.
Security forces have cracked down hard on Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists.
Following the swelling tension between the Palestinian people and the Egyptian government, who were concerned the Gaza tunnels were being used by Hamas terrorist group and other Palestinians to smuggle weapons and goods into Gaza, the Israeli Prime Minister praised Egypt for taking initiative to pave the way to peace.
Also on Friday, Al-Sisi met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, where he emphasised Egyptian-German relations, and noted the “positive role German companies have played in Egypt’s development by working to implement projects as quickly as possible, ensuring that the highest standards of quality are met, and demonstrating a necessary understanding to reduce project costs”. “The real problem is between the Egyptian people and the Muslim Brotherhood” which has given “a very bad impression” and Egyptians “are not able to forgive and forget”.
Sisi also covered the ongoing turmoil in Iraq and Yemen, calling for stability throughout the region.
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In the interview, Sisi said Syria should not be divided when hostilities end and warned that the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime could result in all of its weaponry ending up in the hands “of the terrorists” and would “pose a serious threat to the rest of the region, and this is what we fear”.
