Egypt disappointed at ‘lack of anti-terror cooperation’

Cairo: Egypt’s anti-terror campaign has not drawn enough international cooperation, Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry said on Saturday, after several countries suspended flights to the country over a crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai peninsula.

“Egypt has been fighting terrorism for more than a year now and made calls for fighting terrorism. But these calls have not received response from the countries, which are now withdrawing their nationals from Egypt,” he said.

Shukry added that Egypt was not informed of alleged intelligence information about the cause of the Russian jet crash.

Several countries are evacuating their citizens from Egypt amid suspicions that a terrorist bomb caused the October 31 jet crash in Sinai, killing all 224 people on board.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, an ally of the Egyptian government, decided to halt all Egypt-bound flights pending the findings of an investigation into the crash.

The airliner crashed shortly after it departed from the Sinai resort town of Sharm Al Shaikh en route to the Russian city of St Petersburg. An affiliate of the Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility

Putin and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi agreed in a phone conversation on Friday to boost security cooperation, state media reported.

“All sides, seeking to ensure their citizens’ safety, have to realize the scale of terrorism in Egypt and participate in eliminating it,” Shukry told a joint press conference with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Cairo.

Shukry thanked Hungary for not taking what he called “hasty steps that could negatively affect the Egyptian economy”.

Tourism is a main foreign currency earner for Egypt, contributing more than 11 per cent to its economy. The industry has been hard hit by the turmoil that hit the country since the 2011 uprising that forced long-time president Hosni Mubarak to step down.

Al Sissi, who took office last year, has repeatedly pledged to re-establish security in the country and rejuvenate the ailing economy.

Egypt has experienced a spate of militant attacks, mainly targeting security forces, since the army’s 2013 overthrow of Islamist president Mohammad Mursi following massive protests against his rule.

In recent months, the army has ramped up a campaign against militants in Sinai.