Jeddah – The foreign ministers of Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Jordan met on the sidelines of the preparatory meetings for the Jeddah Arab Summit to discuss regional issues and international developments, including the agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran reached last March.

The ministers agreed to continue conversations to achieve collaborative coordination that takes into consideration the most important common interests during their meeting, during which they discussed their views and visions while protecting common Arab interests.

Nasser Bourita, the minister of foreign affairs, African cooperation, and Moroccan expatriates, met with many of his Arab counterparts on Wednesday.

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For allegedly erasing the true identity of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, in a soon-to-be-released documentary that portrays her as a person of black heritage, Egyptians have sued Netflix, a multi-billion dollar media business.

The “Queen Cleopatra” teaser from Netflix, which was posted eight days ago and presently has over two million views, has prompted a number of people to construct Twitter threads and TikToks to explain every problematic aspect they have found in it.

Following a widespread wave of abuse, Netflix has removed the comments beneath the video.

The teaser has a number of people speaking, including an elderly person of color who says, “I remember my grandmother telling me, I don’t care what they tell you in school, Cleopatra was black.”

Many people were particularly offended by this line and criticized Netflix for trying to present what a grandma stated as fact.

According to Indie Wire, Egyptian attorney Mahmoud al-Semary complained to Egypt’s public prosecutor over the promotion of “Afrocentric thinking,” which includes “slogans and writings aimed at distorting and erasing the Egyptian identity,” and asked that Netflix be banned in Egypt.

The late queen was discussed in-depth on the “Amuse” Twitter account, which stated that she was “European in appearance” and that she was a Macedonian Greek woman.

The American Jada Pinket Smith, whose daughter, Willow Smith, received backlash for her harsh depiction of Amazigh tribes in her fantasy novel “Black Shield Maiden” as “savages” and “dangerous on their best day,” is the producer of the Afrocentrist documentary.

A video on the ENDYMIONtv YouTube channel titled “How woke ideology transforms history” discussed reverse colorism, selective activism, and the portrayal of primarily white historical characters by black performers.

Netflix wants to provide the impression that this movie is based on facts and official historical records by calling it a documentary, yet doing so distorts public perceptions of Cleopatra’s past and origins and raises objections.

In response to Change withdrawing their petition, the petition’s creators, Maha Shehata and Aikk Yasser, jointly posted a statement on Instagram stating, “The outrage is NOT because they got a black actress, the outrage is because we know they’re trying to push the agenda of’modern-day Egyptians are colonizers.

The documentary series will debut on May 10; however, Change has yet to specify which community rules were broken.

In their 2021 series on Anne Boleyn, which starred Jodie Turner-Smith as the historical figure, Netflix earlier incited outrage by “blackwashing” the historical figure, who was born of two white European royals and served as Queen of England and Henry VIII’s wife.

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According to Saudi state news agency SPA, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday in search of financial assistance to help Egypt’s struggling economy and ease the pressure on its currency.

Although Saudi Arabia has historically provided Egypt with economic support, it has recently stated that it will only do so under specific circumstances, leading to rumors of an unexpected conflict between the two countries.

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To create cooperative environmental research initiatives and promote information transfer on climate change and sustainable development, Morocco and Egypt have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the margins of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 27).

The MoU asks for fostering environmental innovation, waste management, and energy transition in both nations. Additionally, it improves coastal management, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem restoration.

Leila Benali, the Moroccan minister of energy transition and sustainable development, and Yasmine Fouad, the Egyptian minister of the environment, signed the agreement on November 9 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, reaffirming the commitments of Rabat and Cairo to green transition and sustainable development.

Leading African proponents of the green transition include Morocco and Egypt. The two nations are well-positioned to produce affordable green hydrogen and are poised to accelerate the decarbonization of their energy systems thanks to the development of their renewable energy infrastructures.

Notably, Egypt intends to get 42% of its power from renewable sources, and Morocco is working to meet its 50% target by 2030.

Together with Mauritania, Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa, the two nations rekindled their interest in creating a pipeline of green hydrogen projects this year by establishing the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance.

The program advocates for enacting legal and policy changes, developing local skills, and stimulating investments in green hydrogen products to satisfy domestic demands. Its goal is to expand regional access to inexpensive renewable energies.

Rabat and Cairo are attempting to raise capital for their upcoming green hydrogen projects in addition to fostering technological collaboration.

According to DFI Intelligence, Egypt has received investments totaling more than $100 billion in green hydrogen ahead of COP 27.

About 70% of the investments are made by foreign companies, including the UAE’s Alcazar Energy, India’s Acme Group, and Australia’s Fortescue Future Industries (FFI).

Morocco recently started pilot projects to investigate the feasibility of expanding green hydrogen and green ammonia plants throughout the nation.

The initiatives are built on creating cross-border alliances with the aid of regional players like Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), OCP Group, and Gaia Energy as well as international organizations like Chariot Limited, Oort Energy, and H2Pro.

Morocco’s green hydrogen industry is still in its early phases, but various assessments have noted that the nation has the potential to become a significant hydrogen exporter.

Recently, the global conglomerates Adani Group from India and ACWA Power from Saudi Arabia both announced ambitions to invest in Morocco’s developing green hydrogen infrastructure. Additionally, Germany committed to provide €38 million (MAD 408 million) to aid in the development of the nation’s first green hydrogen plant.

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Abdellatif Ouahbi, the minister of justice, and Omar Marwan, his Egyptian counterpart, spoke on Sunday in Cairo about ways to enhance and deepen judicial cooperation between the two nations through the implementation of numerous bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding in the field of justice. The two parties referred to the long-standing political ties that have bound the two nations since His Majesty King Mohammed VI and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi assumed office, and they emphasized on this occasion the breadth of the strong bond that has bound the two peoples for many years.

Mr. Abdellatif Ouahbi reviewed the reforms that the Moroccan judicial system is undergoing during this meeting, which was specifically attended by Mr. Ahmed Tazi, the ambassador of Morocco to Egypt and the kingdom’s permanent representative to the League of Arab States. These reforms aim to strengthen the judiciary’s independence and develop the legislative system so that it can respond to all global and domestic changes and have a positive effect.

In addition, he examined the Ministry’s initiatives to strengthen public services, engage the digital transformation sector, and satisfy people’ ambitions and expectations, as well as its intensified efforts to train human resources for the various legal and judicial professions. The seminar provided an opportunity to hear about Egypt’s experience with justice on a variety of levels, including legislative, judicial, and jurisprudential.

It should be emphasized that Mr. Ouahbi visited Jordan and the Gulf nations. This trip provided an opportunity to strengthen ties of cooperation in the justice sector and lay the groundwork for a new phase of illustrious partnership with these nations that is consistent with the level of profound and significant political ties already existing between the Kingdom of Morocco and these friendly nations.

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The 48th session of the Arab Labor Conference will take place in Cairo, Egypt, from September 18 to 25, and is being attended by a tripartite delegation from Morocco led by Younes Sekkouri, Minister of Economic Inclusion.

According to a communiqué from the Ministry of Economic inclusion Younes Sekkouri, the delegation consists of officials from the government, professional employers’ organizations, and the union centers with the highest representation.

More than 500 representatives from 20 member states will attend the current session, which will be presided over by the Kingdom of Morocco, according to the same source (ministers of labor, heads of labor unions, and general secretaries of Arab trade union centers).

This session’s agenda covers a number of topics relating to the pressing issues facing the Arab labor market in the post-Covid-19 phase, particularly the significance of the Arab Labor Organization supporting Arab efforts to achieve a swift and thorough economic recovery in the post-pandemic stage.

Aspects like entrepreneurship, employability, artificial intelligence, new job models, digitalization, and social protection system governance will also be highlighted at the conference.

The statement stated that Arab pioneers in the workplace will be acknowledged at the Arab Labor Organization’s initiative in recognition of their significant achievements at the national and international levels.

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The Moroccan economy’s growth rate for 2021 has been increased upwards by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It is predicted to have the greatest growth rate among Middle Eastern and North African countries (MENA).

Morocco’s economic recovery is showing signs of strength. Following the World Bank’s revision of the national economy’s growth projection for 2021 (from 4.2 percent to 5.3 percent) last week, it is now the time of the International Monetary Fund, another Bretton Woods organization, to raise its anticipated growth rate for the Kingdom.

Morocco’s growth rate for 2021 is now expected to reach 5.7 percent, according to the IMF’s “World Economic Outlook,” released on Tuesday, October 12, 2021. This is 1.3 percentage points higher than the IMF’s April predicted rate.

Morocco, like the World Bank, is predicted to have the strongest growth rate in the MENA area, according to IMF figures. Morocco outperforms Egypt (3.3 percent), Tunisia (3%), Algeria (3.4 percent), the United Arab Emirates (2.2 percent), and Jordan (2.2 percent) (2 percent).

The Bretton Woods institution also predicts that unemployment would rise to 12% in 2021 before decreasing to 11.5 percent the following year. According to the same estimates, the consumer price index would stay constant, rising to 1.4 percent in 2021 and 1.2 percent in 2022.

It should be mentioned that the International Monetary Fund has somewhat cut its global growth forecasts, now forecasting 5.9% this year and 4.9 percent in 2022, while stressing the pandemic’s ramifications will endure in the short term. And the various consequences it has.

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The Egyptian national newspaper Al-Ahram wrote that Morocco has become one of the global models in the field of managing the Covid-19 crisis as well as the vaccination campaign, leading the country to become the first in Africa in terms of the number of individuals benefiting from the vaccination.

The newspaper highlighted, in an article published under the title “Morocco as a Model in Managing Corona Vaccine” that one month after launching the free vaccination campaign against “Covid-19” in Morocco, the number of beneficiaries has exceeded 3 million and 700,000 people, while more than 360,000 people underwent the second phase of vaccination.

The author of the article explained that by recording these important figures, the Kingdom has become one of the global models in the field of vaccination management, noting that Morocco’s success in managing the vaccination campaign is part of its success in managing the sanitary crisis as a whole. She continued, “With the emergence of the first case of the epidemic in the Kingdom, Morocco was one of the first countries to declare a state of emergency, close all land, air, and maritime borders, and announce a comprehensive quarantine to face the pandemic, adding that the decisions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI were so wise that no effort was spared to protect Moroccans.

She pointed out that since the beginning of the pandemic, His Majesty has given instructions for the creation of a special fund, the value of contributions to which has reached more than 34 billion dirhams (approximately 3.5 billion dollars), noting that the King was one of the first contributors to the fund that was allocated to cover the expenses related to rehabilitating health mechanisms and means, supporting the national economy, and mitigating social repercussions of this crisis.

She indicated that Morocco was a pioneer in adopting a treatment protocol that proved its efficiency in facing the pandemic, explaining that thanks to the royal commitment and proactive measures, Morocco was able to avoid the worst in terms of the spread of the virus, and to identify the appropriate vaccines for its sanitary situation by choosing and ordering “AstraZeneca” And “Sinopharm”, even before their issuance, at a time when many other countries have not yet decided their choices.

The newspaper wrote that the Kingdom was able to obtain large quantities of the two vaccines early (amounting to 8 million doses), and for the sake of the success of its national campaign, a vaccination strategy was set up all over the country, where a national warehouse was constructed to store vaccines, and a plan was put into action for receiving, storing and distributing the vaccine in safe conditions.

In this regard, the author stressed that Morocco seeks to protect public health, reduce the social and economic impact of Covid-19 and reduce the number of deaths, in addition to ensuring a coverage rate of about 80% of the population over the age of 18 years.

She concluded that if Morocco’s vaccination campaign continues at the same rate and with the same community involvement, there is a possibility to achieve “herd immunity” by May or next June, according to the Ministry of Health which predicted that “by that time, Moroccan authorities will lift the state of emergency and all other restrictions related to the pandemic, and Moroccans will be able to resume their normal lives after 15 months, which were exceptional by all standards.”

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Cairo: Mohamed Sultan, the American activist of Egyptian origin, announced on Saturday evening that the authorities in Cairo released 5 of his relatives.

It came in Sultan’s post on his Facebook page; simultaneously with the announcement, in US media, of the victory of the democratic candidate Joe Biden as the president of the country.

He said in the post: “Alhamdulillah, after 144 days in prison, Egyptian authorities released my five cousins”. He pointed out that “they were arrested because of the case against (Hazem) Al-Beblawi (the previous Prime Minister of Egypt who took over from July 2013 to February 2014) in America”.

On his part, the Egyptian lawyer Ahmed Saad, head of the Defense Authority for Sultan’s relatives, said in two statements in Arabic and English on Saturday evening “the Supreme State Security Prosecution decided (last Tuesday) to release 5 of Mohamed Sultan’s relatives”.

He made it clear that “they were arrested in mid-June as a result of Sultan’s lawsuit against Al-Beblawi in an American court.

He added “the released people arrived at their homes on Thursday and Friday, after it became clear that the accusations against them were incorrect (without details).”

Last month, 56 members of the US Congress sent a letter to the Egyptian president asking for the release of the political prisoners. Whereas observers say that Biden’s policies will be more decisive than his predecessor Trump on human rights issues in Egypt.

Omar Abdulaziz, the Saudi activist, wrote on Twitter “months ago, Biden threatened Sissi and mentioned the name of the Egyptian activist. At the time, five of his family members were in prison. Yesterday, Sissi anticipated Biden’s victory and released them”.

At the beginning of last June, Sultan Al-Ibn announced in a statement filing a lawsuit with an American court against Al-Beblawi, accusing him and other officials of “torturing him” while he was arrested in Egypt years ago “under Protection Act of The American Torture Victims”.

No comment was given from Egyptian authorities on the release or lawsuit; except Cairo’s denial, during that period, of any local or international accusations of torture in its headquarters or prisons, or the existence of any political detainees.

Cairo released Sultan five years ago after renouncing his Egyptian nationality and traveling to the US, less than two years after his arrest in August 2013, and the start of his trial in the case known in the media as “fourth operation room”.

After renouncing his Egyptian nationality, Sultan waived up to 25 years prison sentence in that case on the back of accusations he denies by “participating in an armed picket”.

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