Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held discussions on Tuesday with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the Human Rights Council meetings in Geneva. The talks focused on following up on the bilateral relations after the meeting of the leaders of both countries in November, consulting on the war in Gaza, and the risks of expanding the conflict in the region.
Both sides discussed the implications of the escalation of the Gaza conflict and its potential to extend violence to other areas, threatening regional stability and foreboding unpredictable consequences. The spokesman for the Foreign Ministry noted that the meeting addressed the trajectory of bilateral relations within the context of following up on instructions from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and President Ebrahim Raisi after their encounter at the Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh last November. This meeting highlighted the importance of joint efforts to resolve outstanding issues to normalize relations, based on principles of mutual respect, good neighborliness, and non-interference in domestic affairs of states, aiming to achieve the interests of both the Egyptian and Iranian peoples and support stability and security in their regional environment.
The ministers also discussed all issues related to bilateral relations, following up on the agenda items and outcomes from the previous meeting held between the two foreign ministers during the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. They expressed their countries' aspirations to restore the natural course of bilateral relations, consistent with the historical and civilizational legacy of both nations and their pivotal roles in the region, emphasizing the significance of this meeting as an important step in this direction.
The spokesman added that a significant part of the meeting was devoted to the developments regarding the Gaza crisis and the grave consequences of the ongoing Israeli assaults on the sector, as well as the catastrophic humanitarian situation facing the Palestinian people. In this regard, Sameh Shoukry made an effort to inform his Iranian counterpart about Egypt's initiatives to find pathways for de-escalation that would alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people and allow for sustainable aid to meet the needs of the sector.
Additionally, the ministers reiterated their firm rejection of any plans aimed at displacing Palestinians from their land and resolving the Palestinian issue. They agreed to intensify efforts to promote an immediate ceasefire and ensure the sustainable delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people in the sector, in line with relevant Security Council resolutions.
Concerning the ongoing war in Gaza, Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed to his Iranian counterpart that the intertwining crises in the region cast shadows on the stability of all regional peoples, expressing Egypt's deep concern regarding the expansion of the conflict in the region, which threatens the security and stability of several sister Arab countries.
Shoukry conveyed Egypt's strong concern about the widening military tensions in the southern Red Sea region, which poses an unprecedented threat to international shipping routes, directly harming the interests of many countries, including Egypt. This necessitates cooperation among all regional states to support stability and peace and eliminate hotspots of tension and conflicts in that area.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the two ministers reaffirmed their aspiration for achieving stability and enhancing security in their regional surroundings while agreeing to maintain the pace of communication to continue dialogue on various issues of mutual interest at bilateral, regional, and international levels.
