RIYADH: Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed received a message from Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on ways to strengthen bilateral relations, Emirati state news agency WAM reported on Saturday.
The message was delivered to Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, during a meeting with Duterte’s special envoy and presidential assistant on foreign affairs, Robert Borje, at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Sheikh Abdullah also handed Borje a message from Sheikh Mohammed to the Philippines president, which dealt with bilateral relations, WAM said.
The two sides discussed joint cooperation and a number of issues of common interest.
They also reviewed Manila’s participation at Expo 2020 and its role in enhancing joint cooperation between the two countries in a number of important fields, such as industry and trade.
Borje praised the impressive organization of Expo 2020 Dubai, which drew wide participation from about 192 countries, and has provided an important global platform to create promising opportunities for cooperation and partnership between states.
He said that the Philippines was keen to elevate joint cooperation with the UAE in all fields, praising its leading regional and international position.
Reem Al-Hashimi, UAE minister of state for international cooperation and director-general of Expo 2020 Dubai, attended the meeting.
The Philippines celebrated its National Day at Expo 2020 Dubai on Friday, with a host of activities marking the country’s strong ties with the UAE.

MAARAT AL-NAASAN: Syrian regime shelling killed six civilians including women and children on Saturday in Idlib province, the country’s last main rebel bastion, a war monitor said.
A photographer at the scene reported seeing several bodies being taken away from a wrecked home in Maarat Al-Naasan, an area close to regime-controlled territory.
“The shell fell on a civilian home,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group with a network of sources on the ground in the war-torn country.
The monitor said two women and two children were among those killed, who were all from the same family. Many others were wounded.
The shelling had begun at around 1130 GMT, with more shells fired intermittently afterwards.
The Syrian regime and its ally Russia have regularly targeted hospitals and civilian areas since the start of the war in 2011, according to the observatory. The Idlib region bordering Turkey is home to about 3 million people and it is one of the last pockets to oppose Damascus.
Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, a former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, controls with its allies about half of the region and parts of neighboring provinces.
After a months-long military campaign to flush out the enclave sparked fears of the war’s worst bloodshed yet, a ceasefire deal was reached in March 2020. The agreement brokered by the regime and the rebels’ main backers — Russia and Turkey respectively — has largely held since, despite sporadic flare-ups.
But Damascus has intensified attacks on southern Idlib since June.
The war in Syria has killed around half a million people and displaced millions more, the observatory says.

LONDON: French President Emmanuel Macron said that his country remains committed to the continued enhancement of joint cooperation with Egypt in a number of fields, and to supporting Cairo’s efforts to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development, and combat terrorism and extremist ideology in its region.
Macron said his country is proud of its strong relationship with Egypt, which has gained momentum in recent years through the many visits by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to France.
His comments came during a meeting with El-Sisi on the sidelines of the One Ocean Summit in the French port city of Brest on Friday, according to Bassam Rady, a spokesman for the Egyptian presidency.
El-Sisi said Cairo is in turn keen to develop ties with Paris in various fields, especially the transfer of expertise and the employment of French technological know-how in all types of development.
He added that Egypt also hopes to maximize coordination and consultation with France on political, security, military and economic issues, and to help maintain security and stability in the Middle East, the Eastern Mediterranean and the African continent, especially under the current French presidency of the EU.
Macron and El-Sisi also reviewed opportunities for cooperation ahead of Egypt’s hosting of the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference, COP27, in Sharm El-Sheikh in November, given the prominent role they their countries play in environmental and climate issues, the spokesman said.
El-Sisi said the invitation for him to participate in the One Ocean Summit reflected the importance Egypt attaches to protecting the marine environment, as evidenced by the establishment of nature reserves and efforts to preserve biodiversity and reduce marine pollution.
The Egyptian president also held talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, and Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden on the sidelines of the summit.

CAIRO: Egypt establishes relations on the basis of mutual respect and common interests but never on the basis of conditionality, said Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Saturday.
“Egypt has confirmed that on many occasions,” Shoukry said, adding his country also establishes relations on the basis of non-interference in the internal affairs of countries and in accordance with the rules and charter of the United Nations and international norms.
His comments were made at a joint press conference with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock following bilateral talks during her first visit to Egypt .
He added that Egypt resorted to Germany to fulfill its needs for armament in order “to protect its national security and borders.”
Shoukry emphasized that a “militarily strong Egypt” has contributed to achieving further security and stability across the region and Europe.
He further praised the Egyptian navy’s efforts in combating illegal immigration to Europe since September 2016, a matter which is of high concern to the Europeans. The armament has also enabled Egyptian security forces to combat terrorism.
Meanwhile Birbock said Germany is in the process of setting a restrictive policy on exporting German arms to countries from which it imports weapons, and a law is being legislated.

KHARTOUM/CAIRO: Sudan’s military leader General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Saturday dismissed Western threats of sanctions and said meetings between Sudanese and Israeli officials were part of security cooperation rather than political in nature.
Burhan led a military coup on Oct. 25 that ended a partnership between the army and civilian parties which was meant to lead to democratic elections, leading to months of protests as well as Western condemnation.
US officials have said they are looking into options to respond to the killing of at least 79 protesters, according to a toll by medics, and to moves to impede civilian-led government.
Speaking in an an interview with Sudan’s state-run TV aired late Saturday, Burhan said it is legitimate for Sudanese security and intelligence agencies to have ties and exchange visits with Israel.
He said exchange of intelligence has enabled Sudan to dismantle and arrest suspected militant groups in Sudan that “could have undermined the security of Sudan and the region.”
He insisted his country’s relations with Israel are not of a political nature, saying that no senior Sudanese official has yet made a visit to Israel. He did not elaborate.
Sudanese and Israeli officials exchanged unannounced visits in recent weeks. Most recently, a Sudanese security delegation visited Tel Aviv last week, following a visit by Israeli officials, including Mossad intelligence officers, to Khartoum in January.
Burhan also said Washington was receiving inaccurate information.
“Sanctions and the threat of them are not useful,” he said.
Burhan said he took personal responsibility for investigations of protester deaths and that five or six were ongoing. But he added that there were suspicions of involvement by “outside groups,” without elaborating.
The armed forces were committed to handing over power to an elected government or to an arrangement decided through “national consensus,” he said, repeating a commitment to holding elections in mid-2023.
The military had met resistance committees that are leading the protest movement, and they agreed on many points, he said. In statements, resistance committees have rejected dialogue with the military.
Prior to the coup, the military had led steps to reach an agreement in late 2020 to normalize relations with Israel, a move also made by the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
Burhan said meetings between Israeli and Sudanese officials since the coup had not been high-level and only involved the security and intelligence apparatus.
“This is a legitimate matter for these agencies, and it is no secret that the information shared enabled us to catch several terrorist organizations located inside Sudan,” he said.
Protesters have accused the military of bringing back loyalists of ousted President Omar Al-Bashir. This week, two prominent politicians involved in a committee to dismantle Bashir’s network were arrested.
In response, Burhan said officials appointed since the takeover were already part of civil service, and that the committee had diverged from its goals though he was not involved in the arrests.
The UN, the US and other Western government have pressured the military to end the crackdown on protesters and restore a civilian-led government to complete the country’s transition. Congress members have also called for sanctions on military leaders in Sudan.
US Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee and the newly appointed US special envoy for the Horn of Africa visited Sudan last month and said they made clear to the generals that “the US “will consider measures to hold accountable those responsible for failure to move forward.”
In the interview, Buran pushed back against threats of punitive measure, saying that sanctions and threats of sanctions will not helpful.
(With Reuters and AP)