Day: February 26, 2024

DOHA: Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held talks with Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh on Monday to discuss efforts to reach a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. The discussions dwelt on Palestinian developments and Qatari efforts to reach an immediate and durable cease-fire in Gaza, the Emiri Diwan said in a statement. Sheikh Tamim reiterated Qatar's 'unwavering support for the Palestinian people and their just cause and the significance of the Palestinian unity to regain their legitimate rights, primarily the right to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,' the statement said. According to a Hamas statement, Haniyeh said his group showed flexibility and positively responded to efforts by mediators to end the Israeli war on Gaza. 'Hamas sees that the Israeli enemy is stalling, something the group will not accept in any way,' he added. The Hamas leader called for halting Israeli 'massacres' against Palestinian children, women and civilians, t he statement said. An Israeli delegation is scheduled to arrive in the Qatari capital, Doha, later Monday for talks on a possible hostage-prisoner swap deal with Hamas. Qatar, along with Egypt and the US, is mediating between Hamas and Israel to put an end to a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7. Hamas is believed to be holding more than 130 Israeli hostages following its cross-border attack on Oct. 7, while Israel holds at least 8,800 Palestinians in its prisons, according to official sources from both parties. The Palestinian group demands an end to Israel's ongoing onslaught on Gaza in return for any hostage deal. A previous deal in November saw the release of 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners in exchange for 240 Palestinians, including 71 women and 169 children. Nearly 29,800 Palestinians have been killed and over 70,000 others injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7 amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been kil led. The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN. Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. Source: Anadolu Agency

PRETORIA: Trade and investments between Trkiye and South Africa are booming with an increase reported annually, Trkiye's ambassador to Pretoria said Monday. 'The total volume of Turkish investments in South Africa is $32 million. In 2022, it was $31 million, which is an increase,' Aysegul Kandas told Anadolu in an interview at her office in the capital Pretoria. She said South Africa's investments in Trkiye were $217 million in 2022 but the amount increased to $274 million by the end of 2023. Kandas said between 60-70 Turkish companies had set up businesses in South Africa, operating in various sectors including textiles and food. She said one of the biggest Turkish investors is Arcelik, a major small household appliances producer in Trkiye that owns the well-known South African appliance brand DEFY, generating jobs for 2,700 people and contributing to South African exports to the Southern African Development Community bloc of 16 countries. Turkish defense giant Aselsan is another big investor that manag es its sub-Saharan Africa operations through its subsidiary in South Africa. She said Turkish entrepreneurs have also set up stores dealing in clothing, food, carpets, and furniture, among others. Kandas said there are currently over 65 South African companies operating in Trkiye with the largest being Met Air. She said the volume of trade between Trkiye and South Africa was $2 billion in 2021 and close to $3 billion in 2022 but decreased slightly in 2023 (over $1.95 billion) but they are working to increase it for the benefit of the two countries. - Diplomatic relations Kandas said last year Trkiye's former foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visited South Africa at the invitation of his counterpart Naledi Pandor. Cavusoglu visited Cape Town to open the new consulate general and also held political consultations with Pandor. He also opened the Maarif Turkish Studies Center at the University of Pretoria Pandor also visited Trkiye for the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in 2022 and she is expected to attend this year as well in March to speak at a panel. She is also expected to meet Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Kandas also said they expect President Cyril Ramaphosa to visit Trkiye, which follows President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's official visit to South Africa in 2018. 'We would like to hold the first meeting of the Binational Commission established between our countries in Trkiye hopefully at the level of deputy president or president. This will propel our bilateral relations which have been flourishing during the last 2 years since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic,' she said. Source: Anadolu Agency

ATHENS: Bulgaria is considering signing a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, following the recent trend observed among many European countries, said a report on Monday. 'Bulgaria is discussing the signing of a bilateral security agreement, but it must first be approved by the National Assembly," said Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, according to public broadcaster Radio Bulgaria. He said that Bulgarian government and the parliamentary majority have been working to ensure maximum political, military, diplomatic, humanitarian and material support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy, for his part, thanked Bulgaria for its support and revealed that Ukraine was interested in joint production in the defense sector, which he said would provide both jobs for Bulgaria and meet needs of Ukraine. According to Radio Bulgaria, the meeting also addressed the enhancement of bilateral cooperation in the energy, infrastructure, and logistics sector s. Zelenskyy said last Wednesday that his country is preparing for new security agreements with its partners. The conflict with Russia entered its third year on Saturday. Since the start of the year, Ukraine has signed 10-year security agreements with the UK, France, Denmark, Italy, Canada and Germany to deepen defense cooperation and support for the country. The agreements follow a G7 declaration at a NATO summit last July that it is launching negotiations with Kyiv to formalize its "enduring support" for Ukraine through "bilateral security commitments and arrangement.' Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: Saudi Arabia on Monday renewed its call for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave since Oct. 7. "We call on the international community to shoulder its responsibility to put an end to escalation and war, protect civilians, and pave the way for a clear and legitimate peace process that includes all parties," Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said in a speech to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council. The top diplomat demanded a "clear-cut, legitimate peace process" to stop Palestinians being "subjected to the worst violations of human rights." "We should dissipate doubts about the right of Palestinians to live in security and their right to self-determination through a legitimate process that is irreversible for them to have their independent state," he said. The Saudi minister also warned of "catastrophic consequences" from a planned Israeli ground attack on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Tel Aviv plans a ground offensi ve in Rafah, where 1.4 million people have taken refuge, despite international warnings and calls to avoid any such attack. Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border incursion by Hamas, killing more than 29,782 people and causing mass destruction and shortages of necessities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed. The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN. Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. Source: Anadolu Agency