World Government Summit 2023 live coverage
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has spoken of the immense challenge he faced to bring stability to Egypt in the past decade — and the way forward for the Arab world's most populous nation.
Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Monday, Mr El Sisi said the first challenge was addressing the loss of hope and desperation felt by Egyptians during these years of upheaval.
The years 2011 to 2013 saw mass protests in Egypt leading to the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak, setting in motion a chain of events that saw Mr El Sisi take power after the military intervened.
“The first challenge after 2011 was the loss of hope and the desperation Egyptians suffered,” said Mr El Sisi.
“Egypt was in real chaos. The entire government was facing internal difficulties. Another challenge was that Egypt was targeted by terrorism. People said we want peace and security and not even food. This was how dire it was. Terrorism is now something from the past. [But] the chaos in 2011 cost Egypt billions.”
Mr El Sisi was speaking in the presence of President Sheikh Mohamed and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and he thanked the UAE’s leaders for assistance given to his country over the past few years.
He singled out Sheikh Mohamed for his support early in his presidency when Egypt was suffering a lack of fuel and people were queuing for petrol at stations across the country.
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Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, concludes the World Government Summit with a talk entitled 'The Emirates: A Family of Solid Roots and a Vibrant Future'. WAM -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, listens to Sheikh Saif. WAM -
Najla Bouden, Prime Minister of Tunisia, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Wavel Ramkalawan, President of Seychelles, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Dr Maeen Saeed, Prime Minister of Yemen and Panagiotis Pikrammenos, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece, at the summit. Photo: Presidential Court -
Joko Widodo, President, Government of the Republic of Indonesia speaking at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
Huda AlHashimi, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs, United Arab Emirates during the interview at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
Left to Right - Nasser Al-Khater, Chief Executive Officer, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and Najeeb AlAli, Executive Director, Expo 2020 Bureau speaking during the session on Hosting Major Events: An Arab Success Story at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
Elon Musk and Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, speak on day three of the World Government Summit in Dubai. Mr Al Gergawi is also chairman of the summit. Pawan Singh / The National -
Ian Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group, speaking during a session called 'Beyond 2023: A Global Outlook'. Pawan Singh / The National -
Delegates gather at Madinat Jumeirah for the summit. Pawan Singh / The National -
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, presents the World Data Visualisation Award to Lindsey Poulter. Pawan Singh / The National -
Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, addresses delegates at the summit. Pawan Singh / The National -
National flags displayed at the global event. Pawan Singh / The National -
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the event using a video link. Antonie Robertson / The National -
People gather for the second day of the summit. Antonie Robertson / The National -
Huda Al Hashimi, right, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs, on stage with Waleed Al Ali, left, Secretary General of the Digital School, and Reda Hegazy, Egypt's Minister of Education. Antonie Robertson / The National -
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Cop28 President-designate, speaks during a session titled The Road Map to Cop28: Prioritising Action. Pawan Singh / The National -
Dr Al Jaber, who is also the UAE's special envoy for climate change, addresses delegates in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
Day two of the World Government Summit. Antonie Robertson/The National -
Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Digital Economy, AI and Remote Work System, and Nick Clegg, president of Global Affairs at Meta, at the summit. Pawan Singh / The National -
Delegates at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
Mina Al-Oraibi, Editor-in-Chief of The National newspaper, Kersti Kaljulaid, fifth President of Estonia, and Mona Al Marri, vice president of the UAE Gender Balance Council. Pawan Singh / The National -
Delegates during the session on Women in Government: Powering the Future. Pawan Singh / The National -
President Sheikh Mohamed, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. Photo: Dubai Media Office -
Sheikh Mohamed greets Mr El Sisi. Photo: Presidential Court -
Mr El Sisi presents the Global Best M-Gov Award to the winners as Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, looks on. Photo: Presidential Court -
Mr El Sisi presents the Global Best M-Gov Award. Photo: Presidential Court -
Mr El Sisi presents the Global Best M-Gov Award. Photo: Presidential Court -
Sky News Arabia's media relations director Faisal bin Huraiz sits alongside Mr El Sisi at the summit. EPA -
Francesco La Camera, Director General of International Renewabale Energy Agency, speaks at the summit. Antonie Robertson / The National -
Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence at the summit. Antonie Robertson / The National -
Mohamed Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer, Masdar. Antonie Robertson / The National -
Marco Dunand, CEO and Co-founder, Mercuria Energy Group. Antonie Robertson/The National -
Christian Bruch, President and CEO, Siemens Energy. Antonie Robertson / The National -
Ahmed Bahrozyan, chief executive of the Public Transport Agency at the RTA. Antonie Robertson / The National -
RTA's flyng taxi and sky port project powered by Joby. Virtual simulation of the flying experience. Antonie Robertson / The National -
will.i.am speaking during the session on Accelerating Tech: The New Frontier for Policy-making at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
Doron Avni, Google VP of Government Affairs and Public Policy Emerging Markets speaking during the session on Accelerating Tech: The New Frontier for Policy-making at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
Sujay Jaswa, Founder and Managing Partner, WndrCo speaking during the session on Accelerating Tech: The New Frontier for Policy-making at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the chairman of the World Government Summit, delivers the opening speech. Pawan Singh / The National -
Al Gergawi highlighted the rapid change the world has seen in the decade since the event was first held. Pawan Singh / The National -
Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, speaks at the summit. Pawan Singh / The National -
Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili speaks at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
Al Gergawi and Schwab held a joint discussion. Pawan Singh / The National -
Delegates standing during the moment of silence for the Turkey – Syria earthquake before the start of World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
Delegates at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
“I made no request but he knew what we needed,” said Mr El Sisi. “I saw ships being rerouted from the Red Sea and Mediterranean carrying gas, oil and fuel.
“Energy was a challenge,” he said. “This was difficult.”
The talk was moderated by Faisal Bin Huraiz of Sky News Arabia and also encompassed Egypt’s attempts at reforming the economy, climate change, population growth and how Mr El Sisi had tried to rebuild and re-energise the country after the years of turmoil.
“Egypt is trying to resolve these issues,” he said. “Everyone [was] afraid Egyptians wouldn’t take all that pressure. They have sustained so much pressure, are still doing so and have not succumbed.”
Turning to climate change, Mr El Sisi said Egypt had long been committed to doing what it could for the environment, had supported the 2015 Paris agreement and hosted the UN’s climate conference, Cop27, in 2022.
That summit resulted in the creation of a “loss and damage fund”, a compensation fund for developing countries who have been hit the most by the effects of climate change. Most of the details about how the fund will work remains to be established. It is expected to feature again at Cop28 in Dubai this year.
“We worked with the UAE even before Cop27 because they are always ahead of us,” said Mr El Sisi. “They will build on that achievement,” he said, referring to Cop28.
Mr El Sisi also touched on Egypt’s plan to move the capital to a site outside of Cairo. He said his administration was working hard to boost automation in government services.
He also reflected on last week's devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The death toll has risen to over 35,000, with rescuers still desperately searching for survivors under the rubble. Mr El Sisi specifically urged more aid to be dispatched to Syria.
He finished by saying greater trust had been established between Egypt’s government and its people recently, but some had tried to undermine this through “fake news, lies and fabrications”.
“[For what] Egypt has gone through, [it takes] 10 years to come out of that and revive the economy and renew social activity,” he said.
The World Government Summit takes place in Dubai until Wednesday.
