Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri stressed the importance of securing sustainable funding for the operations and programmes of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
He also underscored the need to step up the indispensable contributions of major donors and the international community in order to enable the agency to carry out its noble mission.
The foreign minister’s remarks came as he participated on Tuesday via video conference in the International Ministerial Conference on the UNRWA, which was held in Brussels under the co-chairmanship of Jordan and Sweden.
During the conference, Shoukri reiterated Egypt’s support for the agency and its role in serving Palestinian refugees, praising the Jordan-Sweden’s initiative to call for this important conference.
He also asserted the vital role of the agency since its establishment in 1949 in the provision of relief and basic services to the Palestinian refugees, which contributed to improving the lives of millions of these refugees and alleviating the repercussions of their humanitarian situation.
Foreign Minister Shoukri also touched on the importance of restoring the political endeavour in pursuit of the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state, in a manner that would achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
