In light of the developments in the Red Sea region, the Suez Canal Authority reaffirms its commitment to ongoing efforts aimed at achieving continuous and effective communication with all its clients and building on the strategic relationship it shares with major shipping lines, international shipping chambers, and active organizations in the global maritime community. These efforts are clearly manifested in holding direct and regular meetings with many influential figures in the international maritime community, most notably the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, the President of the International Chamber of Shipping, and the Chief Executives of major shipping lines and representatives of shipping agencies, to consult on the geopolitical and security challenges facing the region and discuss their implications for the sustainability of global supply chains. These efforts have yielded numerous successes over the past period, enhancing avenues for joint cooperation with partners and clients in various aspects, including increasing the investment portfolio of several shipping lines in Egypt, most notably the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, which has been focusing on increasing its investments at the Port of East Port Said and injecting new investments into the ship recycling project at the Port of Damietta, reflecting the pivotal role of the Suez Canal in supporting the group's activities in Egypt. The A.P. Moller-Maersk Group has also been keen to coordinate efforts to affirm its interest in positioning the Suez Canal as one of the main operational routes for the Gemini Alliance (the Future Network), which includes the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group and the German HAPAG-LLOYD Group, which began operations last February. Furthermore, discussions continue regarding the group's sailing policies and future plans to increase the transit rates of its vessels through the Suez Canal once stability is fully restored in the Red Sea region. The cooperation with major shipping lines does not stop here; it has extended to various fields, including training cooperation. Last year, a joint cooperation agreement was signed with MAERSK TRAINING to organize advanced training programs for the authority's employees in leadership and crisis management. The Suez Canal Authority also offers advanced training programs through its Marine Training and Simulation Academy for ship captains from various shipping lines on the safe passage through the Suez Canal. The commitment of major shipping lines to maintain the strategic relationship with the Suez Canal is reflected in statements from their officials, including Mr. Søren Toft, the CEO of the shipping line "MSC," expressing his preference against sailing around the Cape of Good Hope due to a lack of essential maritime services and his readiness to resume passage through the Suez Canal as soon as full stability returns to the region. This aligns with the statements of many influential figures in the international maritime community affirming the canal's vital role and importance for the sustainability of global supply chains. Among them, Mr. Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), stated that the Suez Canal is an indispensable maritime passage, expressing the organization's support for enhancing navigation in the canal due to its contribution to reducing harmful carbon emissions and ensuring a sustainable working environment for seafarers. Furthermore, statements from Mr. Gérard Mestrallet, the French President's special envoy, revealed that the Indian Economic Corridor to the Middle East and Europe (IMEC) will not compete with the Suez Canal due to a clear difference in terms of the capacity for the volume of trade that can be accommodated in the newly constructed corridor, which relies on maritime transport in some of its stages in addition to rail transport. Reports from international maritime institutions have reinforced the importance of the Suez Canal for Europe's oil import movement, as revealed by Kepler, an analysis firm, which disclosed that half of the European Union's fuel shipments in March passed through the Suez Canal during a period of relative calm and the beginning of a return to stability during the ceasefire. This confirms the interest of major shipping companies in resuming passage through the Suez Canal as soon as stability returns to the region. Maritime statistics from the canal have recorded that 166 vessels have altered their routes to transit through the Suez Canal instead of around the Cape of Good Hope since the beginning of February, clearly indicating the impact of the situation in the Red Sea on the transit rates of vessels through the canal. Before the escalation of security tensions in the region, canal navigation statistics had recorded unprecedented new figures in the year 2023, achieving the highest annual transit rate for vessels at 26,434 ships, the highest annual net tonnage of 1.6 billion tons, and the highest annual revenue amounting to 10.3 billion dollars, surpassing all previously recorded figures. Despite the escalating events and increasing challenges, the Suez Canal has not ceased to provide its maritime services since the outbreak of the crisis but has continued its supportive efforts to achieve comprehensive and integrated development through ongoing navigation channel development projects, alongside efforts to enhance the level of maritime services and introduce a package of new maritime services that were not previously offered. Coinciding with the fourth anniversary of the successful refloating of the container ship EVER GIVEN, which was made possible by the readiness of the authority's technical and human capabilities and the support of its maritime fleet with new tugs, the authority celebrates the completion of the development project for the southern sector and its operation, allowing for increased navigational safety for the canal and reducing the effects of water and wind currents on transiting vessels, as well as increasing the canal's capacity to accommodate special transit operations, such as the passage of the floating dock "DOURADO," with a width of 90 meters, which could not have crossed the canal without the completion of the canal expansion project in the southern sector, where the maximum allowable width for passage before the expansion project was 70 meters according to navigation regulations. As events continue, the Suez Canal demonstrates its ability to respond flexibly and positively to the requirements of the crisis and meet customer demands by enhancing the level of maritime services and adding a package of new maritime services that were not previously offered, including the Port Said Shipyard providing maintenance and repair services for two vessels belonging to the MSC shipping line, in addition to the successful urgent maintenance and repair services provided by the Suez Shipyard for the Greek bulk carrier "ZOGRAFIA," which was attacked in the Red Sea, as well as providing marine rescue services to offload the cargo of the Greek tanker SOUNION, which was attacked in the Red Sea, followed by taking the necessary measures and preparations to tow it safely through the Suez Canal. These challenges consistently affirm the canal's leadership and that it will always remain a lifeline for goodness and prosperity, a symbol of challenge and resilience that faces no competitor and whose status cannot be undermined by an alternative route... steadfast above changes and circumstances... as it always documents for history the genius of place and time and the capabilities of Egyptians. The Suez Canal Authority urges the media to exercise accuracy and adhere to objectivity and not to publish any misleading data or analyses that could cause confusion and doubt about the capabilities and potential of the world's most important maritime facility and harm its global reputation and status, reaffirming the importance of obtaining accurate information through the authority's official sources.