CAIRO – 26 February 2025: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Badr Abdelatty and Kaja Kallas, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, held a phone call to discuss matters concerning bilateral relations and the Gaza reconstruction plan.
Minister Abdelatty expressed Egypt’s desire to bolster economic ties, trade exchange, and investments with the union, and for the endorsement of the second tranche of the financial assistance package soon.
The Total value of the EU assistance package is €7.4 billion. The first tranche disbursed in 2024 was worth €1 billion, while the second amounts to €4 billion.
Speaking of Gaza, Abdelatty gave an overview of Egypt's efforts to stabilize the ceasefire, and ensure the implementation of its three phases, calling upon the EU to provide more humanitarian aid.
Additionally, He emphasized that Egypt has been finalizing a plan that is already supported by many Arab and Muslim-majority countries, to reconstruct the enclave without the displacement of Palestinians. The minister equally urged launching a political process aimed at achieving the two-state solution.
On Saturday, Israel postponed the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners, criticizing "humiliating ceremonies" by Hamas during the handover of six hostages during the seventh swap of the January 2025 ceasefire agreement, which also included the delivery of the bodies of four persons who got killed in Israeli shelling of Gaza.
Sources told media that the delayed exchange would take place on Thursday along with the release of the bodies of four Israeli captives.
Wed, Feb. 26, 2025
