Egypt's FM urges resolving disputes in Kashmir via dialogue

CAIRO - 29 September 2019: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri called for settling all disputes in Kashmir through dialogue, and within the framework of peaceful settlement of international disputes.

India stripped its portion of Muslim-majority Kashmir of autonomy and statehood on Aug. 5, shutting off phone networks and imposing curfew-like restrictions in some areas to dampen discontent, Reuters reported.

Some of those curbs have been relaxed, but mobile communications in the Kashmir valley are largely still blocked, and more than a thousand people are likely to still be detained, according to official data.

Meeting on Saturday with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Shoukri congratulated him for being appointed as foreign minister in the new Indian government, formed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Foreign Ministry's spokesman Ahmed Hafez said.

The meeting reviewed aspects of bilateral relations between Egypt and India and the significant developments these relations have witnessed in recent years.

Shoukry stressed the keenness to continue to push forward the frameworks of bilateral cooperation between the two countries during the coming period, especially the economy and investment fields. He referred to the growing Indian investments in the Egyptian market.