Hemedti announces from Djibouti his readiness to negotiate peace in Sudan

The warm official reception from the highest hierarchy of power carries political connotations

Djibouti - Djibouti was the third stop for the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), and he received an official reception from President Ismail Omar Guella, President of the country and Chairman of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East Africa (IGAD), in a message that is not devoid of important political connotations.

The President of Djibouti received Dagalo, who began a tour of East Africa last week that included Uganda and Ethiopia, and is expected to later include the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Dagalo said through his account on the X platform, “Today I was pleased to visit the sister Republic of Djibouti and meet with President Omar Guella.” He added, “I provided him with an explanation of the developments in the situation in Sudan in light of the current war.”

He continued, "I presented to President Gilley our vision to stop the war and reach a comprehensive solution that will end the suffering of our great people."

He added, "I affirmed our full commitment to the outcomes of the IGAD Presidents' Conference and our unconditional readiness to negotiate to achieve a just and comprehensive peace."

This visit comes after the postponement of a meeting that was supposed to take place in Djibouti with the Army Commander, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, for reasons said to be technical, but observers believe that the postponement is related to the continued distance between the two generals, and in relation to what is happening on the ground in terms of pushing the army leadership and its remnants behind it. The previous regime was about to unleash a tribal war, through calls for mobilization and arming civilians.

Observers believe that the official reception that Dagalo received during his visit to Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Uganda, and the hospitality he received, reflects the depth of the relations between the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces and the countries of East Africa.

The official reception that Dagalo received in the capitals of Djibouti, Addis Ababa and Kampala undermines Al-Burhan’s efforts to market himself as the sole representative of the Sudanese state abroad.

Observers point out that Dagalo appeared during these visits in the position of a strong and confident party, and this is due to the military achievements that his forces achieved during the last period, the most recent of which was their control of Al-Jazira State in central Sudan, which is a preliminary step to knocking on the doors of the east of the country, which the army uses as its stronghold.

Observers believe that Dagalo, although he appears keen to achieve peace, will proceed with the military path if there is still evidence of his position on ending the war.

Djibouti announced, on Saturday, that it would pave the way for the Sudanese dialogue, and next week will host a meeting that it described as “decisive.”

Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssef said through his account on the “X” platform, “Next week, Djibouti, in its capacity as head of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development in East Africa (IGAD), will pave the way for the Sudanese dialogue and host a decisive meeting,” without further details.

IGAD is a sub-regional African governmental organization, founded in 1996, with its headquarters in Djibouti, and includes countries from East Africa, namely: Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, and South Sudan.

On Wednesday, Khartoum announced that Djibouti had informed it of postponing the meeting of the President of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, with the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces until next January, after the two parties’ planned meeting in the capital, Djibouti, last Thursday, was unable to put an end to a war that broke out between the two sides since last April.

Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been waging a war that has left more than 12,000 dead and more than 6 million displaced and refugees, according to the United Nations.

Egyptians anticipate the new year by looking for a safe haven for their savings

Cairo - The fluctuations in the economic conditions to which Egyptians are exposed were reflected in their decisions, most notably the decision to search for a safe haven for their savings, with the decline in confidence in the statements made by the government from time to time confirming that it will not take the step of floating the pound at the present time, in addition to what The northeastern border is witnessing an unprecedented conflict in Gaza, which prompts some to restore what was ingrained in the Egyptian mentality during the periods of wars that the state fought on this front and the resulting heavy losses.

Shops selling gold jewelry witnessed an increasing demand from citizens who resorted to converting their money into gold bullion, anticipating the start of the new year and the difficult economic decisions it might bring by saving their savings, at a time when statistics published by the Construction and Building Committee of the Businessmen Association indicate that nearly 50 in One percent of the current demand for real estate is aimed at investment, not housing.

Rafiq Abbasi: Gold is difficult to deal with as a means of investment

Rafiq Abbasi: Gold is difficult to deal with as a means of investment

Some are convinced that making decisions related to the price of the local currency may be possible following the beginning of the year, which coincides with the possibility of Cairo holding discussions with the International Monetary Fund to complete the review that has been postponed more than once since obtaining a loan worth three billion dollars early last year, in light of Cairo’s demand. By increasing the value of the loan, and the Fund asking the government to take structural decisions that support the completion of the financial payments that it is supposed to receive after disbursing only one payment amounting to $374 million.

Muhammad Salem, an employee in a private company, said that gold is a safe haven at this time when he is afraid of making unexpected decisions, adding, “I used to go to gold jewelry stores at the beginning of every year to save part of my money or buy gifts, but this year The situation is different, as I received many advice from my co-workers to convert what I own in Egyptian pounds into gold bullion, and although the amount is not large, I was careful not to lose part of it, especially since there is a possibility that prices will rise again in the coming months.”

He added in a statement to Al-Arab that “the government is not accustomed to being frank enough to be confident that it will not take the step of not floating the pound, and what is more is that the value of the local currency is declining against the dollar, which is reflected in the prices of gold jewelry, which are linked to exchange rates, and thus It is no longer feasible to obtain an interest value that may reach 25 percent or more after the local currency lost more than half of its value last year, and news coming from global economic institutions indicates that the value of the pound may decline further.”

He continued, “We have no choice but to search for a way that can reduce losses with the increase in inflation rates and the presence of greater difficulties in managing the basics of life, which imposes a saving behavior that reduces the impact of living crises and remains a tool to rely on whenever the need arises, especially since funds are frozen in the form of bullion.” Gold or real estate helps rationalize expenses and creates a desire for it.”

Citizens’ orientation towards securing their savings is not only related to the extent of their confidence in the government, because they are facing a situation in which the value of the local currency is declining.

The most common 21 karat gold in Egypt opened trading on Saturday at the level of 3,125 pounds per gram (approximately $100) and witnessed an increase of 150 pounds ($5) last week, and the price of gold reached 25 thousand pounds (approximately $850).

A technical analysis of “Gold Billion,” an Egyptian application that follows developments in the gold market, revealed that the record rises in local gold prices, despite the global market’s closure during the New Year holidays, are due to the rise in the dollar exchange rate in the parallel market, in addition to the import initiative. Gold without customs duties did not allow large quantities of gold to enter during the last period because it was not a holiday period and did not contribute to achieving stability in the market.

He stated that the intense demand by citizens leads to speculation in prices in light of the widespread fears about the possibility of a floatation in the exchange rate and the impact of the decision to fix the interest rate from the Central Bank of Egypt and the resulting conviction in the markets that new savings vessels will not be offered to withdraw the cash liquidity that is needed. It will result from the entitlement to the 25 percent certificates.

Head of the Gold Jewelry Division at the Federation of Industries (government), Rafiq Abbasi, confirmed that citizens’ willingness to buy gold at this time of the year is more severe than in previous years, given the economic conditions that Egypt is going through and the tension that the region is exposed to, creating a rush on the part of citizens and investors. To buy gold, the Egyptian government has tightened its noose on dollar traders on the black or parallel market, and some have become afraid of falling prey to counterfeiting the currency or slipping into the legal prohibitions of trading the dollar, in addition to the fact that it is not readily available.

He explained in a statement to Al-Arab that “the demand for buying gold will continue because the dollar is not sufficiently available in banks and markets, and if solutions to the Egyptian economic crisis are found, the pressure on gold can ease and investors will naturally return to their investment activities away from gold.” “What Egypt is witnessing is being repeated in many countries of the world amid fears of an expansion of the conflict currently taking place in the Gaza Strip.”

Mohamed Sami: The government’s speech does not have the desired effect in the face of the market logic that controls the decisions of Egyptians

Mohamed Sami: The government’s speech does not have the desired effect in the face of the market logic that controls the decisions of Egyptians

He stressed that gold is difficult to deal with as a means of investment, but citizens and investors view it as a temporary step to preserve the value of money until the economic and security conditions in the region stabilize. However, the large demand caused an unprecedented decline in the supply of bullion and gold jewelry, and this was reflected in the increases. The steady increase in prices during the current month, with the decline in the ability of merchants to import gold from abroad due to the scarcity of hard currency.

Some citizens in Egypt are convinced that the current situation may change at any moment and agreements will be made regarding the eastern borders or the economic crisis, and then a decline in gold prices will be expected. However, they look at the global vision of its prices increasing and there is a conviction that in all cases the yellow metal remains on its way.

The honorary president of the Dignity Movement Party (opposition), Mohamed Sami, stated that the tendency of citizens to buy real estate serves government plans that seek to bring about recovery in one of the sectors that is considered part of the domestic product in Egypt, and the government finds no objection to the tendency of citizens and investors to buy real estate that it has built in new cities. Most notably, the New Administrative Capital (east of Cairo) and New Alamein City (west), it believes that there is an opportunity to promote real estate with the decline in the value of the pound.

He pointed out in a statement to Al-Arab that “citizens’ attitudes may not be related to the extent of their confidence in the government or not, because they are facing a situation in which the value of the local currency is constantly declining on the black market and there is a clear crisis in providing the dollar, and therefore the government’s speech does not have the desired effect.” In front of the market logic that controls the decisions of Egyptians.”

He stressed that the continuation of the war on Gaza for the third month in a row indicates the possibility of developments that are difficult to predict, and the issue will remain open to all possibilities, which raises concern for the Egyptians who are trying to hedge against any harsh measures they may find themselves facing without warning.