By Manal Abdel Fattah
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, chaired an expanded session of discussions between the two municipal delegations, at Tahrir Palace.
The discussion session dealt with important files on the negotiating table, most notably enhancing joint cooperation in all fields and exchanging visions on the most important regional issues of common interest between Egypt and China.
Discussions were held in Cairo between Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, during the latter’s visit to Egypt. The two sides exchanged views on the Palestinian issue and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including the crisis in the Gaza Strip. Gaza, and reached the following agreements:
1- The necessity of an immediate and complete ceasefire, stopping all acts of violence, killing and targeting of civilians and civilian facilities, and rejecting and condemning all violations of international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including individual and collective forced transfer and forced displacement of Palestinians from their land, as well as The call for the release of hostages and detainees on both sides was reiterated.
2- Expressing deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and the daily suffering witnessed by the people of the Strip, and emphasizing the importance of rapid, safe, sustainable and unhindered access to adequate humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, and the necessity of implementing relevant United Nations resolutions, including Resolution Security Council No. 2720, including the establishment of the necessary humanitarian mechanisms in the sector.
3- Appealing to the international community and international donors to provide all means of support to the Palestinian National Authority to facilitate its carrying out the tasks entrusted to it to the fullest extent throughout the occupied Palestinian territory.
4- The two sides expressed their close follow-up to developments in the situation in the Red Sea and the importance of reading these developments in relation to the situation in Gaza as it is a major cause of it. They also expressed concern about the expansion of the conflict in the region, while emphasizing the importance of uniting international and regional efforts to immediately stop the attacks on the Strip. Gaza, and working to reduce tension and instability in the region. They also stressed the priority of ensuring the safety and security of navigation in the Red Sea.
5- The need for the international community to assume its responsibilities to create a political horizon for peace between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, and coexistence between the two peoples, by starting to implement the vision of a two-state solution in accordance with United Nations resolutions, including by holding an international peace conference to find a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue. By ending the occupation and embodying the independent and continuous Palestinian state along the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and supporting the State of Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations.
6- The Egyptian and Chinese sides appreciate the efforts made by both sides to calm the situation in the region, contain the repercussions of the current humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, work to end the war in Gaza, support the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, and support Egyptian efforts to achieve reconciliation.
7- The Egyptian and Chinese sides agreed to continue communication and coordination to find a permanent, comprehensive and just solution to the Palestinian issue in accordance with the relevant international determinants.