Day: February 22, 2024

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed on Wednesday the importance of ensuring that Israel refrains from any military action in Rafah that would end up by displacing the Palestinian people or forcing them to move to neighboring countries.

Shoukry made the remarks during a session entitled ‘The Role of the G20 in Dealing with Current International Tensions,’ that was held on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Shoukry expressed his thanks to the Brazilian side for inviting Egypt to take part in the group’s meetings.

Talking about the unprecedented crisis the global system is facing now, Shoukry reviewed the failure of the international system in maintaining its principles and customs, saying the international law and the international humanitarian law are being violated in the Gaza Strip in a war that resulted in the deaths of more than 29,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom are women and children with
hospitals being bombed, universities and schools being demolished, and places of worship, including mosques and churches, being destroyed.

Also, the international system failed to preserve the idea of an international community in which compassion and values such as solidarity prevail over exclusion, fear, revenge and racism, Shoukry said, making clear that a complete siege was imposed by Israel on more than two million Palestinians in Gaza, and they were left either to die of hunger or were forced to flee from one place to another.

Despite all this, Shoukry said, many countries have refrained from demanding that this hateful war to stop, and no one talks about censorship practiced on media or the current distortion of facts by referring to Palestinian losses as deaths rather than as killings, which leads us to question whether all lives important for everyone.

Although the current war on Gaza is considered the bloodiest and most destructive war in contemporary history, we have witnessed continued determin
ation in the Security Council to obstruct calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, he said.

Shoukry called on the G20 and its members to end the current polarization, and urged them to work seriously towards a sincere and full commitment to international law, international humanitarian law and relevant United Nations resolutions, and to work to achieve an immediate and sustainable cessation of hostilities, and unhindered access to humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.

At the end, he said it is not possible to wait for a new aggression against Rafah, and for the war in Gaza to continue in a way that would lead to more killings, suffering and destruction, stressing the need to stop the war now.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Emigration Minister Soha Gendy said Wednesday that relations between Egypt and Kuwait are a model to follow in terms of partnership for development.

Speaking during a ceremony at the Embassy of Kuwait in Cairo to mark National Day, Gendy also praised deep ties between the Egyptian and Kuwaiti peoples.

The Egyptian community in Kuwait is one of the biggest in the Gulf region, the minister noted.

She added that many Kuwaiti students are enrolled in Egyptian universities and institutes.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Ambassador Hamdi Sanad Loza, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for African Affairs, received the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Sudan, Ramadan Muhammad Abdullah Thursday 22/2/2024.

The meeting dealt with the relationship between the two countries, the bilateral cooperation projects and programs, and regional issues of common interest and ways to enhance joint efforts to achieve security and stability in Sudan.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Ambassador Hamdi Sanad Loza, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for African Affairs, received the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Sudan, Ramadan Muhammad Abdullah Thursday 22/2/2024.

The meeting dealt with the relationship between the two countries, the bilateral cooperation projects and programs, and regional issues of common interest and ways to enhance joint efforts to achieve security and stability in Sudan.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed on Thursday 22/2/2024 that Egypt pins great hopes on Britain to exercise pressure on Israel to go back on its plans to launch a military offensive on Rafah, south the Gaza Strip, and to seriously get involved in regional and international efforts aiming at reaching an immediate ceasefire in the war-ravaged enclave.

Shoukry made the remarks during his meeting with his British counterpart David Cameron on the sidelines of the foreign ministers meeting of G20 in Rio de Janeiro.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Middle East developments figured high during the talks between the two top diplomats as both sides exchanged viewpoints about the current security and humanitarian developments in the Gaza Strip.

Shoukry expressed regret over western countries’ disregard of the enormity of the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip during G20 discussions at a time they focused on crises and wars in other areas.

The meeting underlined the need to reach a ceasefir
e in the coastal enclave and ensure unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance to ease the tragic humanitarian disaster the Gazans are experiencing.

Shoukry underlined the importance of the role played by the UNRWA to provide life-saving assistance to the Palestinians.

As for Egyptian-UK relations, the spokesman said talks tackled the distinguished relations between the two nations.

Shoukry lauded the growing bilateral economic relations and the fact that the UK investments are on the top of the list of foreign investments in Egypt, hoping of diversifying British investments in the Egyptian market to cover new economic spheres.

The minister also reviewed the economic reform process in Egypt and economic measures taken lately to overcome the negative repercussions of consecutive regional and international crises.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry denounced the double standards adopted by some Western countries toward the crisis in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and the great suffering of Gazans.

He warned of the impact of the war on the civilian population, including schools students and reporters and the severe damage it has caused to the civilian infrastructure, including Islamic and Christian places of worship.

Shoukry’s remarks came at a meeting he had on Thursday 22/2/2024 with Director-General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay on the sidelines of his participation in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which is hosted by Brazil in Rio de Janeiro city.

Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid said that talks between the two sides took up ways of fostering cooperation between Egypt and the UN organization.

The foreign minister commended the existing bilateral cooperation and underscored the importance of the organization’s role in preserving world heritage.

He stressed the great interest of the Egyptian side in main
taining constant coordination with UNESCO in culture-related issues.

Azoulay thanked Egypt for its painstaking efforts to support the organization’s executive council and appreciated the country’s positive role in UNESCO.

She said UNESCO will outline an action plan to back Gaza, adding she is looking forward to obtaining Egypt’s support for implementing it.

The spokesman said both sides exchanged viewpoints regarding the consequences of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

Shoukry confirmed Egypt will spare no effort to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.

The two sides agreed on the need of continuing coordination and consultation concerning issues of mutual interest.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry asserted the importance of reforming the international governance to address geopolitics crises and priorities of sustainable development.

The foreign minister’s remarks were made while participating in a session themed, “Reforming Global Governance” on the sidelines of G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Rio de Janeiro city in Brazil on Thursday 22/2/2024.

Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid said that Shoukry pointed out to challenges facing developing countries that would require reform of global governance to deal with geopolitics crises and priorities of sustainable development, topped by poverty.

Shoukry said the world financial system must be reformed in a perspective that is addressing climate change issues as being a complementary part and not replacing the achievement of sustainable development.

The reform should aim to scale up finance and easily get it and rely on grants and soft funding tools, he mentioned.

Developing countries should deal with debt
burden through the establishment of comprehensive and active mechanisms, he said.

He pointed out to the possibility of boosting international cooperation in debt-for-nature swaps.

Shoukry highlighted a number of worrying indexes at the level of climate change and pointed out to a growing gap in climate financing for adaptation and expansion in exploration and fossil fuel production, especially coal.

Source: State Information Service Egypt