CAIRO - 21 March 2024: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his accompanying delegation on Thursday to discuss the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, where more than 31,000 Palestinians were killed.
The meeting was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service Major General Abbas Kamel, according to Presidency Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy.
The US Secretary of State conveyed to President El-Sisi the greetings of US President Joe Biden and stressed his appreciation for the fundamental role Egypt plays in establishing peace and stability in the Middle East.
For his part, President El-Sisi lauded the strategic bilateral partnership and continuous consultation on various regional and international issues.
“The meeting tackled the current situation in the Gaza Strip,” Fahmy said.
The President and the US Secretary of State reviewed the latest developments concerning joint mediation efforts that aim at reaching a ceasefire and exchanging captives.
The President stressed the necessity of reaching an immediate ceasefire, highlighting that Gazans are living under drastic humanitarian conditions that threaten the lives of innocent civilians. In response, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Washington had submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
President El-Sisi further warned of the dangerous consequences of any military operation in the Palestinian city of Rafah, demanding urgent action to allow sufficient quantities of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
El-Sisi also underscored the significance of activating the two-state solution that stipulates the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The two sides agreed on the importance of taking the necessary measures to ensure the access of humanitarian aid to the people of the Gaza Strip, and rejecting the displacement of Palestinians outside their lands in any way or form.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken left Saudi Arabia and headed on Thursday to Cairo, where he met with President El-Sisi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and Head of the Egyptian intelligence service Abbas Kamel.
Blinken is scheduled to attend a meeting with the Arab Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and the Palestinian Authority in Cairo, Egypt.
Later on March 21, Shoukry and Blinken will hold a press conference to brief the media on the outcomes of Blinken’s visit to Egypt.
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