Abdul Karim Salim - Cairo

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will travel to Washington on an official visit to Washington next week, accompanied by an army of media professionals and journalists, whose travel expenses have caused discontent among the media.

It is not only Sissi who is keen to take a group of journalists and media professionals on his foreign visits. It is customary for ministers to accompany newspaper delegates to ministries while ministries bear the costs of travel.

The irony is that although these expenditures are deducted from public funds, they do not benefit the Egyptians through in-depth coverage of these visits at different angles. These journalists and journalists publish official press releases sent by agencies and ministries to journalists through the staff of the Public Relations and Media Department.

Egyptians used to receive semi-uniform coverage, sometimes with single addresses for all external activities of officials, from Sisi and junior officials.

Statement of protest
This paradox prompted former presidential candidate Rifat Rashad to ask officials to stop the bleeding of money wasted by losing press organizations - the travel expenses of journalists and their leaders with the president.

Rashad, a member of the board of directors of Akhbar al-Youm, the state-run Akhbar al-Youm, said: "Recently, the press delegation accompanying the president has flown fully loaded planes after the heads of the boards and editors of the national newspapers continued to travel at the expense of the owner of the shop, as long as there is no accountability."

He will travel from Akhbar Al-Youm, for example, five or six journalists with Sisi on his next visit. The ticket will cost about 52,000 pounds (about 18 pounds) and the chairman Yasser Rizk, who is described by many as the closest Egyptian journalist to Sisi .

"You can understand the travel editors, but what is the role of the chairman of the board in travel?" Rashad wonders.

"But why five or six, knowing that the institution lost about 300 million pounds for this fiscal year as stated in the budget of the Foundation for the fiscal year 2019/2018, and supported the state in this period, the news of the day about 700 million pounds."

"How does an institution that loses all this money have to pay for America, unlike the $ 700 dollar a day travel? Where are the regulators from protecting public money? Where are the top media? Where is the press corps?" Rashad asked.

Today's news organization is no exception in losses and suffering. All the press organizations are losing, according to the National Press Agency. They receive government support for their employees' salaries, journalists and operating expenses.

At the level of ministers, every minister is keen to accompany a group of journalists to cover his activities and foreign transfers, with the difference that the cost is borne by the ministry itself from the state budget directly and not through the press institutions.

The Egyptian treasury is suffering from a major crisis, with most of its financial resources going to pay the installments and benefits of debts that have doubled in the years of Sisi rule.

Careful selection
The most important criteria that were required for the approval of the coverage of the activities of the Council is to show submission to the Department of Information in the Council and to respond to the instructions of the staff of the administration, not to be troublesome to the officials questions, and to receive only Press releases and publication.

In February, President of the European Council Donald Tusk ridiculed Egyptian journalists who applauded Sisi after his speech at a press conference held at the conclusion of the Arab-European summit held in Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss immigration issues.

"It is impossible to get such a reaction in Europe," Tusk said after the applause of the sharp journalists. "I congratulate you on this."

Observers believe that officials will not be able to dispense with the army of media accomplices abroad, because they "shield them to the embarrassing questions coming from foreign media."

Journalists accompanied by officials on their foreign visits have revealed that media advisers to the officials coordinate the roles of each journalist to avoid embarrassment or to confuse non-Egyptian journalists when embarrassing questions to the official.

In an interview with French President Emmanuel Macaron and Sisi recently, it became clear that certain journalists were selected to ask specific questions to the French official, who was targeted to embarrass him following his statement that he called for the release of political prisoners and bloggers and freedom of expression.

The journalist Mohammed al-Baz asked Macron about the secret of changing France's policy of non-interference in Egyptian internal affairs to intervene, hinting to former Macaron not to comment on the suppression of Sisi opponents, while criticized the last meeting of human rights conditions.

Sisi and his officials often face embarrassing questions about the deteriorating human rights situation in Egypt.

Most of the journalists accompanying Sisi are not fluent in languages ​​other than Arabic, and their questions often appear fabricated, directed and unprofessional, according to observers.

Sisi is keen to shake hands with the journalists and journalists accompanying him, which supports the interpretation that they are being accompanied simply for "primacy," as journalists and journalists line up to kiss him in a "routine" manner.