
By Manal Abdel Fattah
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met today with Joseph Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on the sidelines of the 60th edition of the Munich Security Conference.
According to the statements of Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesman and director of the Department of Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting dealt in depth with the latest security and humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
Minister Shukry and the Supreme Representative were keen to exchange assessments and the results of their contacts with various regional and international parties to achieve a detente in the raging situation in the sector. The two sides also consulted on a number of initiatives to end the crisis by achieving an immediate ceasefire and exchanging detainees, as well as enhancing the access of humanitarian aid into the sector.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman added that the two sides shared the concern about the current situation in the Strip, which portends a humanitarian disaster achieved in light of Israeli movements to launch a military operation in the city of Rafah in the south of the Strip. Minister Shukry also stressed the importance of the international actors to move to pressure Israel to stop this military operation, and to stop any attempts to implement the scenario of forced displacement of the people of the Gaza Strip or liquidate the Palestinian cause. The two sides also addressed the tensions experienced by navigation in the Red Sea in connection with the crisis in Gaza.
Ambassador Abu Zeid added that during the meeting, Minister Shoukry was keen to confirm his appreciation for Borrell’s positions in support of efforts to end the war in Gaza, which were reflected in his recent statements about the need for the United States to pressure Israel to stop its hostilities, including stopping the export of weapons to Israel.
Minister Shoukry also stressed Egypt’s reliance on the efforts of the Supreme Representative of the Union to develop a strong and unified European position calling for a ceasefire, increasing humanitarian aid for the Palestinians, and pressuring Israel to remove the obstacles it places in the way of the entry of that aid into the Strip.
For his part, the Supreme Representative of the European Union stressed his support for the pivotal role played by Egypt to stop the war in the Strip and contain its repercussions at various levels.
Borrell was also keen to learn about Minister Shukry’s vision of the role the EU can play in this regard.
The spokesman concluded his statements, referring to the agreement of the two sides to continue close consultation in the coming days to push towards ending the war in the Gaza Strip, and launching a serious and effective political process for a comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue on the basis of a two-state solution leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the borders of June 4, 1967.