FM Shoukry to hold talks with US, Saudi, Qatari, Jordanian counterparts, Thursday

CAIRO – 20 March 2024: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and US counterpart Antony Blinken expected to hold talks in Cairo on Thursday.

Shoukry is also expected to attend a meeting of Arab foreign ministers to discuss the developments in the Gaza Strip, in the presence of Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Shoukry and Blinken are then to hold another meeting with the Saudi, Qatari, Jordanian counterparts, the UAE minister of international cooperation, and the secretary general of the PLO Executive Committee.

On March 19, The US State Department said that Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt and meet with senior leaders in the two countries, where he will discuss with officials in Egypt and Saudi Arabia ways to provide more humanitarian aid to Gaza, in addition to discussing plans for the post-war phase.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the US Secretary of State will hold discussions with Saudi leaders in Jeddah on Wednesday before heading to Cairo on Thursday to meet with Egyptian officials.

This will be Blinken's sixth tour in the Middle East since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on October 7.

Blinken will also discuss "a political path for the Palestinian people with security guarantees with Israel, and a structure for lasting peace and security in the region."

Blinken will also raise the imperative issue of putting an end to Houthi attacks in Yemen on commercial ships, to restore stability and security in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, according to Miller.