Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and the visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have stressed the imperative of the two-state solution as the sole path for the realisation of justice, security and stability in the region, and called for creating such circumstances as are suitable for activating this solution.
Several regional and international issues with special emphasis on the developments of the situation in Gaza Strip were put for consideration during President Sisi’s meeting with the UN chief at the Ittihadiya Palace on Sunday, Presidency Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri, Head of the General Intelligence Service Maj Gen Abbas Kamel, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini and UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt Elena Panova attended the meeting.
At the outset of the meeting, President Sisi reviewed the intensive efforts under way to achieve an immediate ceasefire, the exchange of captives and securing the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid to the Strip to save the afflicted there, whether by land, in coordination with the relevant UN agencies, or by air dropping particularly for the northern areas of the Gaza Strip, Spokesman Fahmy said.
In this context, the Egyptian leader expressed valuation of the UN Secretary-General’s positions on the ongoing crisis, his keenness on commitment to the principles of international law and international humanitarian law, as well as his continuous activity to urge the international community to take action for ending the war and protecting the civilians.
President Sisi stressed the necessity of the UN Security Council undertaking its responsibilities towards ending the war in Gaza and protecting the civilians. The president also underlined the risk of some countries suspending support to the UNRWA, viewed as a collective punishment of the innocent Palestinian, Spokesman Fahmy said.
For his part, UN chief Guterres expressed great appreciation for Egypt’s regional role as a pillar of stability, paying tribute in this regard to Egypt’s efforts to push for a ceasefire in Gaza as well as for its keenness on keeping the Rafah land crossing continuously open over the past months since the eruption of the crisis, Spokesman Fahmy said.
Referring to his visit to the Rafah crossing on Saturday, UN Secretary-General lauded Egypt’s huge effort to steer and manage the delivery of aid to Gazans despite the severe obstacles and difficulties this process faces, spokesman Fahmy said, adding that Mr Guterres reiterated the necessity of reaching a ceasefire for humanitarian purposes, so that aid can enter and be distributed effectively among the people in the Strip.
Discussions during the meeting reflected identical views on the gravity of the situation and the need to avoid fueling the factors likely to lead to expanding the conflict, as well as on the fill and categorical rejection of displacing Palestinians from their lands.
The discussions also pointed to warning against and rejection of any military operation in the Palestinian city of Rafah since any such operation would entail disastrous consequences on the already deteriorating situation, Spokesman Fahmy said.
President Sisi and Guterres also stressed the inevitability of the two-state solution as the sole path to achieve justice, security and stability in the region, and the necessity of creating the conditions deemed appropriate for activating this solution, Spokesman Fahmy said.
Later on Sunday, Minister Shoukri and the UN secretary general held an expanded session of talks, with aides from both sides attending, at the Foreign Ministry’s headquarters in the New Administrative Capital.
“Important files were on the discussions table, most notably the ongoing war in Gaza and the flow of humanitarian aid, in addition to a number of regional and international files of common interest,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid posted on his official account on social media platform “X”.
Egypt, Spokesman Abu Zeid added, appreciated UN efforts to end the war in Gaza, as well as its renewed call for an immediate ceasefire and the importance of ending the humanitarian tragedy of the Palestinian people.
Speaking to reporters after the session of talks with Minister Shoukri, the UN chief warned of the impact the war in Gaza was having around the globe, according to Reuters. “The daily assault on the human dignity of Palestinians is creating a crisis of credibility for the international community,” he said.
