Reports: Israeli PM flew to Saudi Arabia, met crown prince

November 23, 2020

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli media reported Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Saudi Arabia for a clandestine meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which would mark the first known encounter between senior Israeli and Saudi officials.

Hebrew-language media cited an unnamed Israeli official as saying that Netanyahu and Yossi Cohen, head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, flew to the Saudi city of Neom on Sunday, where they met with the crown prince. The prince was there for talks with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

A Gulfstream IV private jet took off just after 1740 GMT from Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, according to data from website FlightRadar24.com. The flight traveled south along the eastern edge of the Sinai Peninsula before turning toward Neom and landing just after 1830 GMT, according to the data. The flight took off from Neom around 2150 GMT and followed the same route back to Tel Aviv.

The Israeli prime minister's office did not respond to requests for comment. Officials in Saudi Arabia did not respond to requests for comment, nor did its state-run media immediately acknowledge Netanyahu’s reported visit.

Pompeo traveled with an American press pool on his trip throughout the Mideast, but left them at the Neom airport when he went into his visit with the crown prince. While Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates have reached deals under the Trump administration to normalize ties with Israel, Saudi Arabia so far has remained out of reach.

King Salman long has supported the Palestinians in their effort to secure an independent state. However, analysts and insiders suggest his 35-year-old son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, likely is more open to the idea of normalizing relations without major progress in the moribund peace process.

The kingdom approved the use of Saudi airspace for Israeli flights to the UAE, a decision announced the day after Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, met with Prince Mohammed in Riyadh. Bahrain normalizing ties also suggest at least a Saudi acquiescence to the idea, as the island kingdom relies on Riyadh.

Israel has long had clandestine ties to Gulf Arab states that have strengthened in recent years as they have confronted a shared threat in Iran.

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates contributed.

Israeli delegations bask in UAE glow, even as details few

October 27, 2020

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Another plane full of Israeli business people excited about their newfound access to the United Arab Emirates touched down in Dubai this week, the latest whirlwind trip seeking to cash in on a U.S.-brokered deal to normalize relations between the countries.

But like the normalization agreement itself, inked on the White House lawn last month to great fanfare, the steady stream of statements from big-name Israeli investors and moguls descending on Dubai are ebullient, but thin on details.

“One of the things that’s most touching and exciting for any individual in Israel ... is the fact that this could be an opening to cooperation, an opening of goodwill,” Erel Margalit, founder of Jerusalem Venture Partners, a venture capital fund from the country's thriving tech scene, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Trailed by an entourage of 14 Israeli startup executives, a slew of Israeli photographers, foreign journalists and public relations people, Margalit darted around the skyscraper-studded Dubai International Financial Center for meetings with Emirati officials, investors and entrepreneurs.

After years of conducting such deals only in the shadows, Israelis are basking in the photo ops, which presage a broader political shift in the region. But the buzz also lays bare the differences between the two countries. In the UAE, well-salaried locals who rarely mix with the country’s millions of expatriates tend to shrink from press attention. The state owns or tightly controls the local media. On Tuesday, an Emirati official accompanying the UAE’s minister of food security for talks with Margalit was visibly upset by the crush of photographers swarming around their elbow-bump in the glass-walled conference room.

Although Emiratis have long fostered behind-the-scenes ties with Israeli corporations and officials, Israel was publicly viewed as a political pariah. The sight of a tiny Israeli flag emblazoned on the delegation’s welcome sign outside the Ritz Carlton in Dubai this week still drew double takes and iPhone snapshots from most passerby.

In a reflection of the lingering sensitivities, Margalit declined to name any of the Emirati investors or potential startup partners from the week of meetings. He also said that Palestinian entrepreneurs had flown with the delegation, but did not elaborate “for their sake.” The Palestinian leadership has rejected normalization as peeling away one of their few advantages in moribund peace talks with Israel.

“In Israel sometimes people want to jump to the deal,” Margalit said. “This is what I say to my many Israeli friends, be patient because, here, it takes time to build trust." For relations to thrive, the grandeur of Israeli business goals must be matched by an awareness of the situation’s uncertainty, said Ritam Chaurey, an expert on international economics at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

“Ideally we’d expect that it’s an on and off switch,” he said. “But I expect persistent suspicions for both parties to play an important role, especially in the beginning.” Yet Margalit is undeterred, promising to build “an innovation center” in Dubai for cyber, food, medical and financial technologies, like other successful hubs he’s created in New York City and the Galilee region of Israel.

“We won’t do something small, we’ll do something outstanding with the people here," he said.

Israel normalization deal finds fury and favor in Sudan

By Mohammed Amin in Khartoum

24 October 2020

Sudan on Friday become the third Arab country to normalize ties with Israel this year, following in the footsteps of its Gulf allies the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and creating huge splits among Sudan's political class and its people.

Announcement of the normalization came after Washington had removed Khartoum from the State Department's State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) list, imposed under the rule of the deposed president Omar Al-Bashir.

The agreement had been sealed in a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, and the chairman of Sudan's transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, senior US officials said.

It had been speculated that Sudan could make a deal with Israel in exchange for removal from the US terror designation and the major boost for the struggling Sudanese economy from US financial aid that would follow. However, Trump on Monday had said that Khartoum's removal would take place in exchange for a $335m payment to "US terror victims and families".

In a post to Twitter, the Sovereignty Council said the SST delisting marked "a historic day for Sudan and its glorious revolution". It did not immediately comment on its diplomatic agreement with Israel. 

Netanyahu welcomed the agreement with Sudan and what he called a rapidly expanding "circle of peace" and the start of a "new era".

Anger on the streets

On the streets of Khartoum, reactions were not quite as positive. 

Nazar Ahmed, 23, a member of the revolutionary committee in the city's Elgiraif district, told Middle East Eye that the conditions laid down by the US were "humiliating to the Sudanese revolutionists and the acceptance of Sudan's government was shameful".

Meanwhile, Hiba Osman, 21, from Khartoum, told MEE: "We have to look to the countries that normalized its ties with Israel and what benefits they got. Normalization with Israel is a big illusion sold by Trump to our government."

Speaking in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Palestine Liberation Organization official Wasel Abu Youssef said that the decision "will not shake the Palestinians' faith in their cause and in continuing their struggle".

"Sudan's joining others who normalized ties with the state of the Israeli occupation represents a new stab in the back of the Palestinian people and a betrayal of the just Palestinian cause," he said.

Khartoum, meanwhile, insisted that the deal was still provisional and needed the approval of the country's transitional parliament, led by Burhan.

Incentives for Sudan

According to a joint statement issued after a conference call between Trump, Netanyahu, Hamdok and Burhan, Israel and Sudan would focus on trade relations, led by the agricultural sector.

"The leaders agreed to the normalization of relations between Sudan and Israel and to end the state of belligerence between their nations," the statement read.

"The leaders agreed to begin economic and trade relations, with an initial focus on agriculture. The leaders also agreed that delegations would meet in the coming weeks to negotiate agreements of cooperation in those areas as well as in agriculture technology, aviation, migration issues and other areas for the benefit of the two peoples."

The statement also outlined other incentives that had been offered to Khartoum in order to encourage it to sign the deal, with a report disclosing that Washington would pay $750m to Sudan to help salvage its collapsed economy and that aid packages would be provided for two years, including fuel, wheat and medicines.

"The United States will take steps to restore Sudan's sovereign immunity and to engage its international partners to reduce Sudan's debt burdens... The United States and Israel also commit to working with their partners to support the people of Sudan in strengthening their democracy, improving food security, countering terrorism and extremism and tapping into their economic potential."

The normalization agreement sparked fury on social media in Sudan.

Omar Sidahmad, a Sudanese activist, said the deal would strengthen the military's role in politics.

"This is not normalization, but rather an increase in the military junta's grip on executive power and a complete elimination of the civil state," he wrote on Facebook.

"Down with the occupation and those who normalize relations with the occupiers," Muzan Alneed, an activist, said. 

Mohamed Mahmoud, another activist, said the announcement of the deal with Israel was "tantamount to a declaration of war on the core value of all Sudanese revolutions, namely fighting the occupiers and invaders".

Politicians and academics split

Sudan's political parties and academics have been bitterly divided over the normalization move.

The center-left Sudanese Congress Party and the Sudanese National Alliance, together with the Sudan Liberation Movement rebel group, welcomed the deal. The moderate Islamic centrist National Umma Party (NUP) and the Sudanese Communist Party strongly rejected it.

The NUP, led by former prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, threatened to stand against Hamdok's government, saying that "unless the government revises its position of normalization with Israel, we will withdraw our political support for it".

Sudanese scholar Suliman Baldo supported the move, saying that the Sudanese people had a right to be welcomed back into the international community.

"They have been eagerly waiting for this moment following a peaceful mass movement that ousted the brutal Bashir regime," he said. 

"The Sudanese people... suffered from the deposed regime's violent extremist actions that landed their nation on the US terror list. A democratic Sudan could be a bulwark of international peace and security in the region."

Magdi el-Gizouli, an academic at the Rift Valley Institute, strongly denounced the move.

"Khartoum has given a free gift to Trump in his election race, and it is a setback from Sudan's historical position of the 'three noes' from [the Khartoum resolution of] 1967 ['no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it']," he said.

Source: Middle East Eye.

Link: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-normalisation-deal-finds-fury-and-favour-sudan.

US, Israeli envoys fly to Bahrain to advance nascent ties

October 18, 2020

JERUSALEM (AP) — A joint American-Israeli delegation headed Sunday for Bahrain, where officials will be signing a number of bilateral agreements following an announcement last month to normalize relations.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser, Meir Ben-Shabbat, led the delegation that flew out of Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport. Israel's commercial El Al flight 973 — a nod to the international dialing code for Bahrain — will fly through Saudi Arabia's airspace en route to Manama, where dignitaries from all three countries will speak at a ceremony after landing.

U.S., Israeli and Bahraini flags festooned the tarmac before take-off. Ben-Shabbat, one of the key Israeli officials involved in negotiations with Bahrain, said ahead of take-off that the visit will “translate plans to actions and concrete agreements" with the signing of a range of deals involving finance, investment, trade, tourism, communications, technology and agriculture.

Another Israeli official said the visit represents the official establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries with the sides expected to sign a joint statement establishing full diplomatic relations.

The decision to establish ties with Israel has outraged the Palestinians, whose leadership has blasted the Bahraini move, and a similar Emirati deal, as a betrayal and an undermining of the Arab stance that recognition of Israel should come only after Palestinians achieve an independent state of their own.

Bahraini civil society groups and opposition figures, already targeted in a yearslong crackdown on dissent, have also spoken out against normalization with Israel. As part of the deal to normalize relations, the two Gulf Arab states and Israel will eventually establish embassies and exchange ambassadors. The Israeli official said the Israeli embassy was expected to open in Bahrain in the coming months.

Similar to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain is expected to open its embassy at some point in the city of Tel Aviv, where most foreign embassies are located because of Jerusalem's contested status. Bahraini and Israeli officials have held numerous conversations since announcing their intention to establish full ties. Sunday's face-to-face meetings, however, are seen as another step toward normalization.

The El Al flight landed at Bahrain International Airport on Sunday afternoon. The kingdom’s state-owned television channels did not carry the arrival live, nor did the state-run news agency announce the Israelis’ presence.

Meanwhile, Israel and the UAE have already signed a number of business, banking and intergovernmental agreements. Bahrain and the UAE signed the agreement to normalize relations with Israel in a ceremony at the White House on Sept. 15. Egypt and Jordan are the only other two Arab states to sign diplomatic treaties with Israel, in 1979 and 1994, respectively.

The accords made public what had been a gradual strengthening of quiet ties between Israel and several Gulf states — forged in recent years over a shared concern over regional rival Iran. Other Arab countries could follow suit, with analysts and insiders pointing to Sudan, Oman and Morocco as possibilities.

The trip to Bahrain on Sunday also came as U.N. arms embargoes on Iran expired despite American objections. Bahrain, like several other Gulf Arab nations, views Iran as the most-serious threat to its security in the Persian Gulf.

The Israeli delegation is slated to fly back to Tel Aviv later on Sunday, while the Americans will head to the UAE before flying to Israel on Tuesday. Last month, the first known commercial flight between the two countries brought a delegation of Israeli officials to Manama to discuss cooperation between Israel and Bahrain following the signing of an agreement to normalize ties.

Ukraine marks 79th anniversary of the Babi Yar massacre

September 29, 2020

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine on Tuesday marked the 79th anniversary of the Babi Yar massacre, one of the most infamous mass slaughters of World War II. Babi Yar, a ravine in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, is where nearly 34,000 Jews were killed within 48 hours in 1941 when the city was under Nazi occupation. The killing was carried out by SS troops along with local collaborators.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the Babi Yar monument on Tuesday and took part in a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the tragedy. “Seventy-nine years ago, a black page was inscribed in the common past of the Ukrainian and Jewish people. We bow our heads before all the victims of Babi Yar. And we have no right to forget these terrible crimes,” Zelenskiy said in a statement.

After the ceremony, Ukraine's Minister of Culture Olexandr Tkachenko and World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation between the Ukrainian government and the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center.

“The parties to the memorandum called for joint efforts of Ukrainian society, the state, the international community and organizations researching and studying the Holocaust and the tragedy of Babi Yar, aimed at preserving and restoring historical memory, so that it becomes a constant reminder of the price people pay for peace,” Zelenksiy's office said.

Philippine leader Duterte announces retirement from politics

October 02, 2021

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday announced he was retiring from politics and dropping plans to run for vice president in next year’s elections when his term ends, avoiding a legal battle with opponents who question such a move.

Speaking before reporters, Duterte said many Filipinos have expressed their opposition to his vice-presidential bid in surveys and public forums. “The overwhelming sentiment of the Filipino is that I’m not qualified, and it would be a violation of the constitution,” Duterte said. “In obedience to the will of the people ... I will follow what you wish and today I announce my retirement from politics.”

The 76-year-old leader, known for his deadly anti-drugs crackdown, brash rhetoric and unorthodox political style, earlier accepted the ruling party’s nomination for him to seek the vice presidency in the May 9 elections. The decision outraged many of his opponents, who have described him as a human rights calamity in an Asian bastion of democracy.

Duterte announced his surprise withdrawal from the election after accompanying his former longtime aide, Sen. Bong Go, to register his own vice presidential candidacy with the ruling party at a Commission on Elections center.

Philippine presidents are limited by the constitution to a single six-year term and opponents had said they would question the legality of Duterte’s announced vice presidential run before the Supreme Court if he pursues his bid.

While two past presidents have run for lower elected positions after their terms ended in recent history, Duterte was the first to consider running for the vice presidency. If he pursued the candidacy and won, that could elevate him back to the presidency if the elected leader dies or is incapacitated for any reason.

Duterte's withdrawal could also pave the way for the possible presidential run of his politician daughter Sara Duterte currently serves as mayor of southern Davao city, and has been prodded by many supporters to make a bid to succeed her father. She has topped independent public opinion surveys on who should lead the country next.

But after her father initially declared that he would seek the vice presidency, Sara Duterte announced she would not run for president, saying she and her father have agreed that only one Duterte would run for a national office next year.

There was no immediate reaction from the president’s daughter, who has gone on a weeklong medical leave. Duterte took office in 2016 and immediately launched a crackdown on illegal drugs that has left more than 6,000 mostly petty suspects dead and alarmed Western governments and human rights groups. The International Criminal Court has launched an investigation of the killings but he has vowed never to cooperate with the inquiry and allow ICC investigators to enter the country.

Philippines' Duterte will 'die first' before facing ICC

September 16, 2021

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte would rather “die first” before facing an international tribunal, his spokesman said Thursday, the day after the International Criminal Court announced it would investigate allegations of crimes against humanity during his bloody war on drugs.

Duterte’s spokesman, Harry Roque, said the president was unfazed when he’d informed him late Wednesday of the court’s decision. “The president didn’t have any reaction, because from the get go, he has said that he’ll die first before he faces any international courts,” Roque told reporters.

“If there are any complaints, they should file it here in the Philippines.” The court on Wednesday said it had authorized an investigation requested by former prosecutor Fatou Bensouda into Duterte’s anti-drugs campaign, saying it could not “be seen as a legitimate law enforcement operation.”

More than 6,000 mostly poor drug suspects have been killed during the campaign, according to the government, but human rights groups say the death toll is considerably higher and should include many unsolved killings by motorcycle-riding gunmen who may have been deployed by police.

Duterte, who has cheered many of the deaths but denied condoning extrajudicial killings of drug suspects, is constitutionally prohibited from running for another term as president in elections next year. But he has announced he will run as vice president instead in a maneuver critics have said is an attempt to both maintain power and insulate himself from the ICC investigation, which has been expected.

Amnesty International's Secretary General Agnes Callamard said the ICC's announcement comes at a “pivotal time” and that “human rights should be at the center of discussions when the Philippines chooses its next leaders.”

“No one is above the law,” she said in a statement. "Duterte’s government must immediately end the cycle of killings, remove those involved from the ranks of the police and bring all those suspected of criminal responsibility to trial.”

Duterte's chief legal counsel, Salvador Panelo, alleged that the Netherlands-based international court was “being utilized as a political and propaganda apparatus" by Duterte's political opponents. “While we expect that more theatrics will be employed by the detractors of the president as election season draws near, this blatant and brazen interference and assault on our sovereignty as an independent country by the ICC is condemnable,” he said in a written statement.

In her 57-page request, a partially redacted version of which the court released to the public, Bensouda argued that Duterte's aggressive approach and bellicose rhetoric toward drug traffickers had already taken shape when he served as mayor of Davao City, before he was elected president in 2016.

“Throughout his tenure as mayor, a central force of his efforts was fighting crime and drug use, earning him the nicknames ‘The Punisher’ and ‘Duterte Harry’ for the violent manner in which he sought to combat crime," Bensouda wrote.

“On multiple occasions, Duterte publicly supported and encouraged the killing of petty criminals and drug dealers in Davao City.” She dismissed the contention by Philippine authorities that deaths in the war on drugs resulted from police acting in self defense, noting that “statements by some public officials suggest that they considered the killings an achievement and an integral component” of the campaign, and that they were encouraged by Duterte as president.

“Duterte praised the increasing number of police killings as proof of the “success” of his “war on drugs,” she argued, adding that Duterte made public statements encouraging security forces to kill drug suspects, regardless of the level of threat.

The investigation will look at killings that took place during some of the time Duterte was mayor, and during his time as president between July 1, 2016 and March 16, 2019, the date the Philippines withdrew from the court.

Panelo, the presidential legal counsel, argued that if the court wanted to investigate it should have done so while the Philippines was a member of the ICC, and that now it has no jurisdiction. Last year, the court decided not to pursue an investigation into crimes allegedly committed by China against Uyghur and other minorities there, saying it did not have jurisdiction over non-members. The United States and Russia are other notable non-members of the ICC.

But Carlos Conde, senior Philippine researcher for Human Rights Watch, said by focusing on the years that the country was still a member of the court, the ICC is well within its rights to investigate Duterte's actions.

He told reporters in Manila that Duterte's run for vice president does “not in any way afford him immunity from suit or investigation by the ICC.” "He will of course try everything in his power to frustrate the ICC from doing its job and its mandate,” Conde said.

Rising reported from Bangkok.

Filipino troops kill rebel commander, rescue last hostage

March 21, 2021

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine troops killed an Abu Sayyaf rebel commander blamed for years of ransom kidnappings and on Sunday rescued the last of his four Indonesian captives, the military said.

Marines wounded Amajan Sahidjuan in a gunbattle Saturday night and he later died from loss of blood on Kalupag Island in the southernmost province of Tawi Tawi. Two other militants managed to flee and dragged along the last of four Indonesian hostages but troops finally rescued him on Sunday, regional military commander Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr. said.

On Thursday night, three Indonesian men were rescued by police who also captured one of their Abu Sayyaf captors along the shores of South Ubian town in Tawi Tawi. The military said the Abu Sayyaf militants led by Sahidjuan were fleeing assaults in nearby Sulu province when their speedboat was lashed by huge waves and overturned off Tawi Tawi.

A military officer said the militants were attempting to cross the sea border to Tambisan Island in neighboring Malaysia’s Sabah state to release the captives in exchange for a ransom of at least five million pesos ($104,000), but the Philippine military got wind of the plan and launched covert assaults.

The officer, who has a keen knowledge of anti-Abu Sayyaf operations, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to speak publicly. Vinluan said the rescue of the Indonesian men, the last known hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf, would allow government forces to finish off the ransom-seeking rebels.

“It will just be relentless in a massive and focused military operation because, now, we would not worry about kidnap victims getting hit,” Vinluan told reporters by telephone. Vinluan said there were about 80 Abu Sayyaf gunmen left in Sulu and outlying island provinces. One of their remaining elderly leaders, Radulan Sahiron, has fallen ill and was wounded in a recent offensive in Sulu, he said.

Sahidjuan, who uses the nom de guerre Apuh Mike, has been blamed for carrying out ransom kidnappings since the early 1990s. He was reportedly among Abu Sayyaf militants who attacked the southern largely Christian town of Ipil in 1995, where they killed more than 50 people after robbing banks and stores and burning the town center in one of their most audacious raids.

The Abu Sayyaf is a small but violent group that has been separately blacklisted by the Philippines and the United States as a terrorist organization for bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings. Some of its factions have aligned themselves with the Islamic State group.

The militants have been considerably weakened by years of military offensives, surrenders and battle setbacks but remain a national security threat. They set off a security alarm in the region in recent years after they started venturing away from their jungle encampments in Sulu, a poverty wracked Muslim province in the largely Roman Catholic nation, and staged kidnappings in Malaysian coastal towns and targeted crews of cargo ships.

Philippine president approves amnesty program for rebels

February 17, 2021

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine president has approved an amnesty program for Muslim and communist rebels who would agree to surrender their weapons as they return to normal life in the latest such attempt to tame rural insurgencies that have raged for half a century.

Thousands of guerrillas belonging to two large Muslim groups in the country’s south and a communist rebel faction could apply for the amnesty within a year after it gets approved by Congress, according to President Rodrigo Duterte’s signed orders made public late Tuesday.

The three rebel groups have signed separate peace deals with Duterte’s predecessors which have eased decades of fighting but have not been fully enforced due to unresolved issues. Leaders of the largest armed group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, have been put in charge temporarily of administering a new Muslim autonomous region in the south while thousands of its fighters are disarmed.

“It’s welcome as long as it’s based on our peace agreement,” Moro Islamic Liberation Front spokesman Von Al Haq told The Associated Press by telephone. He said that his rebel group’s peace deal with the government provides for a general amnesty with an agreed manner of “decommissioning,” a subtle term for disarming thousands of its combatants in batches depending largely on government compliance with the peace pact.

Duterte also agreed to include former insurgents who once belonged to the main communist New People’s Army in his amnesty program. He labeled the NPA a “terrorist group” in his amnesty proclamation. His administration’s peace talks with the Marxist group collapsed after both sides accused each other of launching attacks despite peace negotiations brokered by Norway.

The 75-year-old Duterte has promised to resolve Muslim and communist insurgencies before he leaves office. His six-year term ends in June next year. “There is a need to reintegrate as soon as possible all rebels and insurgents into the mainstream society under the rule of law, including those who may have committed unlawful acts,” Duterte said in his amnesty proclamation.

The amnesty “shall extinguish any criminal liability for acts committed in pursuit of political beliefs” and restore political and civil rights, which were lost due to criminal conviction, the proclamation said.

The amnesty would not cover kidnappings for ransom, massacres, rape, terrorism, drug trafficking and certain crimes the U.N. says should never be covered by amnesties, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and torture.

The amnesty program excludes the notoriously brutal Abu Sayyaf and other small armed bands associated with the Islamic State group. The Abu Sayyaf has been blacklisted by the United States and the Philippines as a terrorist organization for kidnappings for ransom, beheadings and suicide bombings. It has been weakened by years of battle setbacks, surrenders and continuing military offensives but remains a security threat.

Ronaldo Announces Death of Baby Son

Tuesday, 19 April, 2022

Cristiano Ronaldo and his partner Georgina Rodriguez announced on Monday that their newborn baby son has died.

Ronaldo revealed in a social media post last October that the couple were expecting twins.

In a post released on the Manchester United forward's Twitter account, they confirmed the birth of a baby girl.

"It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away. It is the greatest pain that any parents can feel," Ronaldo and Rodriguez said in a jointly-signed statement.

"Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness. We would like to thank the doctors and nurses for all their expert care and support.

"We are all devastated at this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time."

The couple, who met during Ronaldo's time at Real Madrid, have a four-year old daughter together, while Ronaldo has three other children.

"Your pain is our pain, Cristiano," Manchester United tweeted. "Sending love and strength to you and the family at this time."

Real Madrid also responded saying on their web page that the club, "its President and its Board of Directors deeply regret the death of one of the children that our beloved Cristiano Ronaldo and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez, were expecting. Real Madrid joins the grief of the whole family and wants to show them all our love and affection."

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3599691/ronaldo-announces-death-baby-son.

Russia Ratchets up Battle for Control of Eastern Ukraine

Tuesday, 19 April, 2022

Russia ratcheted up its battle for control of Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, intensifying assaults on cities and towns along a front hundreds of miles long in what officials on both sides described as a new phase of the war.

After a Russian push to the capital failed to overrun the city, the Kremlin declared that its main goal was the capture of the eastern Donbas region. If successful, that offensive would give President Vladimir Putin a vital piece of Ukraine and a badly needed victory that he could present to the Russian people amid the war’s mounting casualties and the economic hardship caused by the West’s sanctions.

In recent weeks, Russian forces that withdrew from Kyiv have regrouped in preparation for an all-out offensive in the Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for the past eight years and have declared two independent republics that have been recognized by Russia.

While Ukraine's president and other officials said the offensive had started, observers noted that it was just the beginning of a new massive onslaught.

Ukraine's military said early Tuesday that a "new phase of war” began a day earlier when "the occupiers made an attempt to break through our defenses along nearly the entire frontline.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview that "another phase of this operation is starting now.”

In what appeared to be an intensification of attacks, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that air-launched missiles destroyed 13 Ukrainian troop and weapons locations while the air force struck 60 other Ukrainian military facilities, including missile warhead storage depots. Russian artillery hit 1,260 Ukrainian military facilities and 1,214 troops concentrations over the last 24 hours. The claims could not be independently verified.

The Pentagon cast the stepped-up campaign as "shaping operations” setting the stage for a broader offensive in the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region.

The United States believes that Russian forces are "continuing to set the conditions for what they believe will be eventual success on the ground by putting in more forces, putting in more enablers, putting in more command and control capability for operations yet to come,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Monday.

The assaults began that day along a boomerang-shaped front that stretches more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) from northeastern Ukraine to the country's southeast.

Russia said it struck several areas with missiles, including the northeastern city of Kharkiv as well as as areas around Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro west of the Donbas. Five civilians were killed in a barrage on Kharkiv, Gov. Oleh Synyehubov said Tuesday.

Moscow's troops seized control of one town in the Donbas on Monday, according to Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai. The breakthrough in Kreminna takes the Russians one small step closer to their apparent goal of encircling Ukrainian troops in the region by advancing on them from the north and south and squeezing them against territory held by Moscow's troops to the east.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security council, said that the defensive line had held elsewhere.

The capture of Kreminna also takes the Russians closer to the city of Slovyansk, whose loss by the Russia-backed separatists represented a humiliating setback for Moscow in the early stages of the separatist conflict in 2014.

Key to the campaign to take the east is the capture of Mariupol, a port city in the region that the Russians have besieged since the early days of the war.

Shelling continued there and Russia issued a fresh ultimatum Tuesday to the Ukrainian troops holed up there to surrender, saying those who come out will "keep their lives.” The Ukrainians have ignored previous such offers.

Securing Mariupol would free Russian troops up to move elsewhere in the Donbas, deprive Ukraine of a vital port, and complete a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, seized from Ukraine from 2014.

Denys Prokopenko, commander of the Azov Regiment of the Ukrainian National Guard that is guarding the last known Ukrainian pocket of resistance in Mariupol, said in a video message that Russia had begun dropping bunker-buster bombs on the Azovstal steel plant where the regiment was holding out.

Civilians are also believed to be sheltering at the plant, which covers the territory of about 11 square kilometers (over 4 square miles).

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address that a "significant part of the entire Russian army" is now concentrated on the battle for the Donbas.

"No matter how many Russian troops are driven there, we will fight,” Zelenskyy vowed. "We will defend ourselves.”

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3599821/russia-ratchets-battle-control-eastern-ukraine.

Greece Seizes Russian Tanker as Part of EU Sanctions

Tuesday, 19 April, 2022

Greece has seized a Russian oil tanker off the island of Evia as part of European Union sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, the Greek coast guard said on Tuesday.

Earlier this month the EU banned Russian-flagged vessels from the 27-nation bloc's ports, with some exemptions, as it adopted new sweeping sanctions against Russia.

The Russian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, was seized near Karystos on the southern coast of Evia, which lies just off the Greek mainland near the capital Athens.

"It has been seized as part of EU sanctions," a shipping ministry official said.

A coastguard official said the ship's oil cargo had not been confiscated.

The Pegas had earlier reported an engine problem. Rough seas forced it to moor just off Karystos where it was seized, the Athens News Agency reported.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3600091/greece-seizes-russian-tanker-part-eu-sanctions.

Russians Flee Putin Regime to Join Ukraine Refugees in Israel

Sunday, 17 April, 2022

The moment Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Russian filmmakers Anna Shishova-Bogolyubova and Dmitry Bogolyubov knew they had to leave Moscow.

"We were the next on the list," the couple told AFP in their borrowed flat in Rehovot, a quiet Israeli city 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Tel Aviv.

Once you're on the list of alleged "foreign agents", you face a life of "self-censorship or, sooner or later, prison", said Bogolyubov, who directed the German-financed 2019 documentary "Town of Glory".

The film portrays President Vladimir Putin's use of references related to the fight against Nazi Germany to establish his authority in Russian villages, AFP said.

As its international isolation has deepened, Moscow has come to view all movies made with foreign financing with suspicion, including documentaries, and the couple said theirs was no exception.

"Over the past few years, we felt threatened. In the past few months in particular, people were spying on us and taking photographs on our film sets," Shishova-Bogolyubova said.

The couple decided to continue working in Russia but, taking advantage of their Jewish ancestry, they obtained Israeli citizenship just in case.

Israel's Law of Return gives the right of citizenship to anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent, a criterion that tens of thousands in both Russia and Ukraine meet.

- Opposition to war -

Since Russian troops invaded on February 24, nearly 24,000 Ukrainians have fled to Israel, some but not all taking advantage of the law, according to immigration ministry figures.

They have been joined by around 10,000 Russians, an Israeli immigration official told AFP.

"Most of those are young graduates, from the urban middle class," the official said, asking not to be identified.

Like the Bogolyubovs, Moscow-born linguist Olga Romanova had prepared for the day when she no longer felt safe in Russia.

She applied for an Israeli passport after Putin's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

"I always thought that one day I would join my children in Israel, but it was then that I realized that things were going wrong in Russia," the 69-year told AFP in her son's house outside Jerusalem surrounded by photographs of her grandchildren.

When the invasion started on the morning of February 24, "it was proof that I needed to leave as quickly as possible.

"The war in Ukraine is incompatible with my way of thinking and my moral values. It makes me sick," she said, fighting back the tears.

- New home or stopover? -

The wave of immigration from Ukraine and Russia over the past seven weeks is the largest Israel has seen since the early 1990s when the collapse of the Soviet Union prompted hundreds of thousands to seek a new life on the shores of the Mediterranean.

"Here, we feel safe and we can sleep peacefully once more," said Shishova-Bogolyubova.

"My four-year-old daughter, who is diabetic, is completely taken care of.

"But we don't know if we will stay -- that depends on our work. Right now, we just want to live for the moment and recover from our emotions. Afterwards, we will see."

Sergey, a violinist who asked to be referred to by a pseudonym for fear of retribution, left Moscow for Israel with his pianist wife and three young children but expects to move on.

"I don't know if we'll stay here. We'll probably go somewhere else," he said.

Even for those who qualify for citizenship, Israel can be a terra incognita for new arrivals and nostalgia for Russia is never far below the surface.

Romanova, the linguist, found space in her 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of luggage for just two books, one an academic work, the other a novel by famed Russian novelist Mikhail Bulgakov which always accompanies her on her travels.

"I lost my country. It was stolen from me. It was taken by Putin and those KGB thugs," she said wistfully.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3596266/russians-flee-putin-regime-join-ukraine-refugees-israel.

Algeria, Russia to Hold Anti-Terror Military Drills

Wednesday, 6 April, 2022

The Russian Southern Military District announced on Tuesday that joint anti-terror drills between Russian and Algerian ground forces will take place in Algeria in November, TASS reported.

The first planning conference was held in the Russian city of Vladikavkaz to prepare for the joint Russian-Algerian anti-terror military exercises, which are scheduled to be held at the Hammaguir base in southern Algeria, the press office of the Southern Military District said in a statement.

Both sides coordinated the scenarios of the drill and the logistics.

Maneuvers will consist of tactical moves to search for, detect and destroy illegal armed groups.

About 80 soldiers from the southern military region are expected to participate in the exercises.

“The plan of the combat drills of the forces of the Southern Military District for 2022 stipulates the participation of soldiers from the region in international exercises with units of the armed forces of Algeria, Egypt, Kazakhstan and Pakistan,” TASS added.

Algeria did not issue any official statement about the drills. However, sources interested in the Algerian-Russian military partnership said the objectives and outlines of the drills were discussed during Director of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Army Gen. Dmitry Shugaev’s visit to Algeria on March 25.

Shugaev held talks with Chief of Staff of the Algerian army Lieutenant General Said Chanegriha and discussed bilateral military cooperation, the Algerian defense ministry said in a statement, adding that they exchanged views on issues of common interest.

The Russian military official visited Algeria as part of a delegation that participated in a meeting of the “Algerian-Russian Joint Governmental Committee in charge of military and technical cooperation between the two countries.”

Algiers had acquired its military equipment and most of its weapons from the former Soviet Union since its independence in the 1960s.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3575791/algeria-russia-hold-anti-terror-military-drills.

Turkey Says Ankara and Others Must Talk to Russia to Help End Ukraine War

Sunday, 27 March, 2022

Turkey and other states must still talk to Russia to help end the war in Ukraine, Turkey's presidential spokesman said on Sunday, adding that Kyiv needed more support to defend itself.

"If everybody burns bridges with Russia then who is going to talk to them at the end of the day," Ibrahim Kalin told the Doha international forum, Reuters reported.

"Ukrainians need to be supported by every means possible so they can defend themselves ... but the Russian case must be heard, one way or the other."

Meanwhile, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence accused on Sunday Russia of trying to split Ukraine in two to create a Moscow-controlled region after failing to take over the whole country.

"In fact, it is an attempt to create North and South Korea in Ukraine," Kyrylo Budanov said in a statement, adding that Ukraine would soon launch guerrilla warfare in Russian-occupied territory.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3556511/turkey-says-ankara-and-others-must-talk-russia-help-end-ukraine-war.

Finland to Make Decision on NATO Membership in Coming Weeks

Wednesday, 13 April, 2022

Finland will make a decision about whether to apply to join the 30-member NATO alliance in the next few weeks, Prime Minister Sanna Marin told reporters in Stockholm on Wednesday.

"There are different perspectives to apply (for) NATO membership or not to apply and we have to analyze these very carefully," Marin told reporters in a joint news conference with her Swedish counterpart.

"But I think our process will be quite fast, it will happen in weeks," he added, Reuters reported.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3589541/finland-make-decision-nato-membership-coming-weeks.

Turkey Hints at Pressure to Allow NATO Warships Passage into the Black Sea

Monday, 11 April, 2022

Turkey on Sunday accused Ukraine, without naming it, of trying to exert pressure on Ankara to make it abandon the Montreux Convention and allow NATO warships to enter the Black Sea.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said he doesn’t rule out that drifting mines appeared in the Black Sea with an intent to exert pressure on Ankara to make it allow the passage of NATO warships via the Bosphorus .

"We suspect that mines appeared there intentionally. Probably, they were released as part of a plan aiming at exerting pressure on us to let NATO’s mine sweepers into the Black Sea via the straits," the Minister said.

But he added that Ankara is committed to the rules of the Montreux Convention and will not allow warships to enter the Black Sea, nor will it let the Black Sea be dragged into the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Akar said the Turkish side is probing the issue, noting that media reports say there are some 400 such mines.

"We don’t know who placed them. We know that they were made in Russia but we are probing into which country placed them," he said.

Turkey already held meetings with Bulgarian and Romanian authorities to discuss the matter.

Observers said Akar’s statement about the country that placed the mines is an indirect hint at Ukraine, which seeks NATO support to face Russia’s aggression.

Last month, Russia said the mines placed by the Ukrainian side at the approaches to the Black Sea ports might be drifting toward the Bosphorus after breaking off from cables near Ukrainian ports.

The claim was dismissed by Kyiv as disinformation and an attempt to close off parts of the sea.

Three drifting mines were spotted and destroyed off Turkey’s coast in late March and early April.

Last week, Akar held a video conference with his counterparts in Bulgaria, Georgia, Poland, Romania and Ukraine to discuss the war in Ukraine, mines floating in the sea and regional security.

“Aside from the mines, the importance of cooperation in the Black Sea for peace, calm and stability was emphasized,” Akar said after the meeting,

In February, Ankara announced it will implement the international convention that allows Turkey to shut down the straits at the entrance of the Black Sea to the warships of “belligerent countries.”

The 1936 Montreux Convention gives Turkey the right to bar warships from using the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus during wartime.

Last week, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, told the Turkish Anatolia news agency, that the UN monitors with great concern any kind of mines in international waters, especially with regard to their impact on international transport and on food exports.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3584821/turkey-hints-pressure-allow-nato-warships-passage-black-sea.

Spain to Extradite Turkish Citizen Suspected of Smuggling Banned Gear to Iran

Wednesday, 20 April, 2022

Spain's high court has agreed to extradite to the United States a Turkish citizen suspected of smuggling to Iran equipment that can be used in making missiles, circumventing an arms embargo, court documents showed on Wednesday.

Spanish police arrested Murat Bukey in the Barcelona airport in September at the request of US prosecutors, who suspect him of importing from the United States and selling in Iran fuel cells that can be used in powering ballistic missiles and biodetection in 2012 and 2013, the court said.

Iran was then under a UN arms embargo that banned imports of missile components and technologies. The embargo expired in 2020, but Iran remains under US economic sanctions.

In its ruling the court said Bukey had "falsely declared the material wouldn't be exported to Iran". He is also accused of money laundering.

During the extradition hearing, Bukey's lawyers argued the US statute of limitations had run out on the alleged offenses and that they had been allegedly committed while he was in Turkey, not in the United States.

Still, his lawyer, Llorenc Caldentey Morey, said he was not appealing against the decision. Bukey will remain in custody pending the approval of the extradition by the Spanish government.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3602881/spain-extradite-turkish-citizen-suspected-smuggling-banned-gear-iran.

Myanmar Junta Says to Free 1,600 Prisoners in New Year Amnesty

Sunday, 17 April, 2022

Myanmar's junta said it will release more than 1,600 prisoners from jails across the country on Sunday to mark the Buddhist new year, without specifying whether those being pardoned were protesters or common criminals.

The Southeast Asian country has been in turmoil since Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government was ousted last year in a military coup, which sparked huge protests and a deadly crackdown, AFP reported.

State television announced that 1,619 prisoners, including 42 foreigners had been "pardoned" and will be released to mark the new year.

It was unclear whether anti-junta protesters or journalists jailed for covering the coup will be among those freed.

On Sunday morning, more than 100 people gathered outside Yangon's Insein prison hoping to be reunited with loved ones, AFP correspondents said.

Among them was a woman waiting for her 19-year-old nephew, who was sentenced to three years imprisonment for incitement against the military.

"He was young, and he may have some feeling to fight," she said, declining to give her name.

"I wish all young children will be released including my nephew. They all were innocent."

Another woman waiting outside the prison said she was hopeful that her uncle -- sentenced to three years in prison in March because of his political activism -- would be released.

"I came here as I expected that he would be among other prisoners who got amnesty," she said.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said she had received a letter from her uncle in prison, reassuring her he was well.

- Australian academic -

There was no mention of the Australian economist Sean Turnell, a former Suu Kyi advisor who was arrested shortly after the coup.

He is currently on trial for allegedly breaching the official secrets act, which carries a maximum 14-year jail sentence.

The exact details of his alleged offence have not been made public, though state television has said he had access to "secret state financial information" and had tried to flee Myanmar.

Human rights groups have raised concerns about his prosecution, particularly after the Australian embassy was denied access to his court hearing in September.

Myanmar typically grants an annual amnesty to thousands of prisoners to mark the Buddhist New Year, usually a joyous holiday celebrated in many parts with water fights.

But this year, with the bloody military crackdown on dissent, the streets in many major cities have been silent as people protest junta rule.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3596251/myanmar-junta-says-free-1600-prisoners-new-year-amnesty.

A Top-notch Hospital in Doha Is Busy: Only Falcons Allowed

Sunday, 27 March, 2022

At first glance, the Souq Waqif clinic in the historic center of Doha, the capital of Qatar, could be any other state-of-the-art hospital.

Nurses in blue scrubs move briskly through the bright wards, conducting rounds. Radiology and operating rooms whir with the beeps and blinks of monitors. Specialists squint at X-rays and masked doctors make incisions with all the high-tech tools of modern surgery on hand.

There's just one thing: The rooms are filled with falcons.

In Qatar, the desert birds are among the nation's most pampered residents.

Long revered across the Arabian Peninsula for their ferocity and hunting prowess, falcons today serve as sheikhly status symbols recalling a Bedouin past. The bond between falconers and their falcons has been an inspiration since the Paleolithic period, when drawings of the creatures first appeared on cave walls, according to The Associated Press.

Although less fashionable now than in the days of yore, the art of falconry is still passed down from one generation to the next in Qatar and other sheikhdoms of the Arabian Gulf. With demand growing in recent years, clubs that teach the sport have sprouted up across the region. Falcons compete in an increasing number of races and beauty contests.

“The establishment of the hospital was to support the hobby and heritage of raising falcons ... it’s a pastime that stretches its veins into multiple generations,” Souq Waqif hospital director Dr. Ikdam Al Karkhi recently told The Associated Press. “Keeping them alive and well is an essential duty.”

Public hospitals like Souq Waqif offer expert care to sick and wounded hawks, roughly 30,000 a year. The marbled reception area bustles with owners and handlers bringing their birds in for check-ups, medical tests, feather replacements, orthopedic surgeries — and even something akin to mani-pedis.

Falcon nail filing is very serious business, as birds transplanted from the desert wild to homes in Doha or bred in captivity cannot easily find sharp surfaces on which to trim their talons.

During a falcon’s hunt, the cornered prey at times puts up a fight, clawing and attacking falcon and hobbling its wings. Each of a falcon’s feathers is vital to its flight, necessitating careful feather replacement after a scuffle.

Doctors pull from a bank of shed feathers to find one that perfectly matches the wounded bird’s breed — plumage of the same pattern, length and color.

“If these damaged feathers remain, it can cause loss or reduction of the bird’s fitness,” Al Karkhi said. “They must be treated.”

Hospital surgeons treat other casualties of the hunt, too. Falcons’ beaks and talons suffer damage from all that swooping and plunging and gobbling.

“If a person is neglecting their bird, it’s a huge problem,” said Hamad Al Mehshadi, a falcon festival manager taking his raptor for a regular medical checkup. “When one holds onto their bird, it is something else. The love of the bird is extraordinary.”

Today, the Souq Waqif still sees a steady stream of 150 falcons a day — a sign that the echoes of Qatar’s ancient past are not lost.

“Even the look that a falcon and its owner share, it’s different than any other look,” Al Karkhi said. Falconers “feel the loyalty of this bird — a fierce warrior in the wild and yet a pet in my hand.”

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3556411/top-notch-hospital-doha-busy-only-falcons-allowed.

Saudi Arabia to Start Manufacturing Drones, Eyeing Foreign Exports

Wednesday, 6 April, 2022

Saudi Arabia’s INTRA Defense Technologies CEO Abdulsalam Ghamdi said unmanned aircraft systems have become a useful technology for many fields, indicating that a developed country such as the Kingdom cannot ignore its interest in the sector meeting its local needs.

Ghamdi highlighted Saudi Arabia’s interest in investing in manufacturing and exporting drones as the move would help to diversify the Kingdom’s sources of income and develop its capabilities.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, he revealed the details of the Samoom medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air vehicle (UAV). INTRA had introduced the drone at the inaugural World Defense Show in Riyadh last month.

“INTRA Defense Technologies launched the Samoom UAV for the first time at the World Defense Show in Riyadh, and it is the first strategic unmanned aircraft that is being designed and developed and will be manufactured in Saudi Arabia,” said Ghamdi.

“Samoom’s operational endurance allows it to conduct up to 50-hour reconnaissance missions with the UAV flying at up to 45,000 ft,” he revealed, adding that it could be ready to serve the Saudi armed forces by 2024.

On expanding production at INTRA, Ghamdi recalled that the company had announced the first UAV factory in the Kingdom, whose production lines will be completed, and manufacturing operations begin in the middle of 2022.

“The production plant will contain the complete infrastructure for manufacturing various airframes using composite materials according to the highest international standards,” revealed Ghamdi.

Worldwide, drones have become an active element in many fields with both civilian and military uses.

“A developed and forward-looking country, such as Saudi Arabia, cannot ignore interest in the UAV industry and in developing its own capabilities to build advanced systems and meet its local needs,” said Ghamdi.

He highlighted Saudi Arabia’s interest in investing in the manufacture and export of drones.

“It is no secret that progress in productive industries enhances national sovereignty and bypasses export restrictions that some countries may impose on supporting materials and systems,” he continued.

He moved on to point out that the production of drones is part of Saudi Arabia’s plan to localize military industries, transfer and localize unmanned aircraft systems, and enhance local content in the military industries sector.

All these objectives top the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

The Kingdom is at an important stage in the process of digital transformation across various sectors, and this provides the infrastructure needed for making great strides in the field of UAV production.

“There is no doubt that the progress that Saudi Arabia enjoys would benefit all businesses, including the military manufacturing of defense systems and unmanned aircraft, which require a high level of technical readiness,” explained Ghamdi.

Such a headway was achieved thanks to the government’s support under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

As for Saudi defense companies building international ties, Ghamdi said that platforms and exhibitions, such as the World Defense Show, provide local manufacturers with the opportunity to exchange experiences, bridge distances, build partnerships and strengthen relationships with global designers, sector leaders, and stakeholders in the military and security industries.

“These connections would have a positive impact on the Kingdom's ambitions for localizing more than 50% of its military spending by 2030, and could contribute to consolidating the bonds of cooperation that bring the Kingdom together with its partners in the defense industry from around the world,” he noted.

Moreover, major transformations in the Saudi investment environment and the many new regulations and legal and social reforms, have raised the Kingdom's attractiveness and increased its interaction with the growing opportunities in all fields, including the military and security manufacturing sector.

The Kingdom's position as one of the world's most influential countries in the defense industry and its influence on many regional and international files make it an ideal destination for military production.

“Saudi Arabia’s strategic geographical location connects three continents, and places the Kingdom at the center of global supply chains and the heart of logistical equations, as well as being one of the largest international markets in the defense industry and related technologies,” stressed Ghamdi.

The localization of the military industries sector in the Kingdom is at the heart of the goals of Vision 2030.

“During the past four years, the localization rate doubled from 2% in 2016 to 12% by the end of 2021,” revealed Ghamdi, adding that the increased rates bring the Kingdom closer to reaching its 50% goal by 2030.

The high demand from local and international investors to enter Saudi Arabia’s military industries sector proves that the Kingdom is an attractive market for investment, and that the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) is working to overcome the difficulties that may face investors in this sector.

In its latest reports, GAMI revealed that the number of licensed companies in the military industries in the Kingdom would increase by 41% by the end of the first half of 2022.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3575941/saudi-arabia-start-manufacturing-drones-eyeing-foreign-exports.