By Manal Abdel Fattah
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met today with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki during his visit to the Eritrean capital, Asmara, where he delivered to him a message from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi dealing with the overall bilateral relations between the two countries. And ways to develop it in all fields.
The Foreign Minister conveyed the greetings of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to his brother, President Afwerki, and his pride in the relations that bind them, stressing Egypt’s keenness to strengthen its fraternal relations with Eritrea in a way that achieves the interests of the two brotherly peoples.
For his part, President Afwerki expressed his appreciation for Mr. President’s initiative to send the Egyptian Foreign Minister to Asmara with a message from him, indicating his country’s aspiration for continued cooperation with Egypt to strengthen the partnership at the bilateral level, and to intensify consultation and coordination mechanisms to confront common challenges.
Ambassador Abu Zeid explained that the two sides discussed a number of joint cooperation projects and programs in the fields of infrastructure, health, training and transfer of expertise, in addition to topics related to the African continent and developments in the Horn of Africa region, where the Foreign Minister stressed Egypt’s full keenness to support factors of stability and security. And peace in the region, which requires strengthening regional cooperation and coordination mechanisms from a comprehensive perspective that achieves the interests of everyone. In this context, the current challenges in both Somalia and Sudan, and their impact on the stability and territorial integrity of the countries of the region, were discussed.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman added that the Foreign Minister’s meeting with the Eritrean President touched on the challenges related to the security of the Red Sea, where the Foreign Minister stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between the countries bordering the Red Sea as they have a major stake in the stability of the region and the safety of maritime navigation in this strategic international trade facility.
Minister Sameh Shoukry recalled Egypt’s warning more than once about the dangers of expanding the conflict as a result of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, the evidence of which began to appear clearly with the extension of the crisis period without the ability to reach a ceasefire.
In this context, Shoukry reviewed Egypt’s assessment of the deteriorating conditions in the Gaza Strip and the overall efforts and communications undertaken by Egypt at all levels in order to stop the unjust attacks against the Palestinian people and work to facilitate the access of humanitarian aid to the people of the Strip.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated Egypt’s complete rejection of any attempts to displace or encourage the residents of the Gaza Strip to leave their land, considering that any measures aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause are desperate attempts and doomed to failure.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman concluded his statements, noting that it was agreed to intensify efforts to implement joint cooperation programs and exchange visits at the political and technical levels during the next phase in order to follow up on the results of the Foreign Minister’s visit.
