Egyptian FM flies to Jordan to participate in meeting on Syria

CAIRO – 30 April 2023: Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shokry is heading Sunday to the Jordanian capital, Amman, to take part in the meeting of a committee, having as members Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, on Syria.

The committee has been formed as an outcome of the consultative meeting of the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq. The convention was held in Jeddah on April 14 to discuss consolidating joint Arab work.

The Amman meeting is planned to be an opportunity for the ministers to confer over ways of dealing with the Syrian crisis, and enhancing Arab states' solidarity with the Syrian people to overcome its hardship.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shokry made a phone call on April 9 to UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson to discuss ways of pushing forward the political solution to the crisis.

The minister stressed Egypt's full backing to achieving a Syrian-led comprehensive political settlement in alignment with UNSC resolution no. 2254. He also noted Egypt's eagerness for Syria to restore its security and stability, and end all forms of terrorism and foreign intervention.

The call also tackled possible measures to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people, agreeing on continuing coordination and consultation in the coming period.

Minister Shokry had paid a visit to Syria in February in the aftermath of the deadly quake that hit the country. He met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who expressed appreciation for Egypt's hosting of refugees and the phone call made earlier by his Egyptian counterpart. That is in addition to providing more than 1,500 tons of aid to the neighboring Arab state.