Egypt in January 2026: the most important developments in politics
In January 2026 Egypt's political agenda was dominated by Gaza. On 14 January Palestinian factions agreed on the members of a technocratic committee to govern the Gaza Strip after the war, a deal announced by Egypt and endorsed by Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. The committee held its first meeting in Cairo on 16 January, and Egypt's intelligence chief reaffirmed Egyptian support for it in talks with the Palestinian official Nabil Shaath. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 21 January, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi pledged full effort toward a just solution for the Palestinian issue and the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire. Egypt sent further aid convoys, including 7,475 tonnes of humanitarian aid, and rejected any division of the Gaza Strip. The Rafah crossing was a central issue: on 22 January an agreement was reported to prepare its reopening, and on 30 January Israel confirmed it would reopen on 1 February in both directions after a closure of nearly two years. Israel said it wanted more exits than entries, which Egypt formally objected to, and on 31 January Egypt called recent Israeli strikes a violation of the truce.
A second major theme was Egypt's relations with the United States. On 16 and 17 January President Donald Trump offered to mediate the dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, and Sisi said he valued the offer; Egypt and Sudan both welcomed it. The two presidents met in Davos on 22 January, when Trump praised Sisi as a great leader and said the United States was ready to help, and on 23 January he said he would settle the Nile dispute. Egypt also accepted an invitation to join the Board of Peace led by Trump, alongside Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
On other regional issues, Egypt urged de-escalation and diplomacy between the United States and Iran, and Sisi discussed tensions and Iran's nuclear programme with Iran's president by phone on 31 January. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty rejected Israel's recognition of Somaliland as illegal, and Egypt welcomed ceasefire agreements in Syria. At home, a new parliament convened on 12 January and elected Hisham Badawi as speaker, and a cabinet reshuffle was expected.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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