By Manal Abdel Fattah
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesman and Director of the Public Diplomacy Department at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sameh Shoukry, held a bilateral meeting on January 22 with the European Union Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčić, on the sidelines of the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ participation in the work of the tenth meeting of the Participation Council. Between Egypt and the European Union.
The official spokesman for the Foreign Ministry stated that the meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the European official discussed in detail the humanitarian and security aspects of the crisis in the Gaza Strip, and the joint paths of action between Egypt and the European Union to alleviate the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people, as well as coordinating efforts to enhance the volume of humanitarian aid provided to the Strip.
In connection with this, Minister Shukri stressed the need for important international parties such as the European Union countries to adopt categorical positions regarding achieving a comprehensive ceasefire as the only path to containing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, expressing his aspiration to build on the estimated positions of the European Commissioner towards the crisis to mitigate its humanitarian repercussions, as well as Regarding the categorical rejection of any Israeli attempts to displace Palestinians outside their country.
In a related context, the European Commissioner was keen to listen to the Minister of Foreign Affairs to learn about the Egyptian efforts regarding providing and delivering humanitarian aid, and the important role of the Egyptian Red Crescent in cooperation with international relief agencies in this regard, and receiving the wounded and injured Palestinians, as Minister Shukri stressed in this regard the necessity of supporting All international parties, including the European Union, fully implement Security Council Resolution 2720 and urgently activate the work of the UN mechanism to facilitate and accelerate the arrival of humanitarian relief shipments to the residents of the Strip.
Ambassador Abu Zeid added that the meeting also addressed the current tensions in the region against the backdrop of the situation in Gaza, including in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, and threats to the security of the Red Sea, where the two sides stressed their keenness to intensify coordination between Egypt and the European Union to contain and limit the expansion of the circle of violence. In the region. The discussions also touched on the situation in Sudan, the Egyptian moves within the framework of the path of Sudan’s neighboring countries to enhance calm efforts and mitigate the humanitarian repercussions of the crisis, and the hoped-for role of the European Union to support the humanitarian aspect of the neighboring countries’ action plan, as well as the regional humanitarian response plan for Sudan.
For his part, the European Commissioner expressed his appreciation for the important role played by Egypt in supporting stability in the region, and since the beginning of the crisis in Gaza to contain its repercussions, and pushing with all parties to ensure the full implementation of humanitarian aid, stressing his keenness to continue coordination and consultation with the Egyptian side to enhance European aid. Gaza, and looking forward to visiting Egypt soon.
