CAIRO – 5 March 2025: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and President of the European Council António Costa met in Cairo on the sidelines of the extraordinary Arab Summit held on Tuesday. The two leaders stressed the need to initiate Gaza reconstruction immediately without displacing its residents.
The Extraordinary Arab Summit, held in the New Administrative Capital upon the request of Palestine, focused on developments of the Palestinian cause in light of the Israeli aggression on Gaza.
Costa welcomed the summit's adoption of the Egyptian plan for the reconstruction of Gaza.
The Arab summit, in its final communique, endorsed Egypt’s plan, which is fully coordinated with the State of Palestine and Arab countries and based on studies conducted by the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) regarding early recovery and reconstruction of Gaza.
Moreover, Arab leaders agreed on working to provide all forms of financial, material, and political support for the plan’s implementation, urging the international community and international and regional financing institutions to swiftly provide the necessary support for the plan.
During their meeting, Sisi and Costa expressed their absolute opposition to any attempts to displace Palestinians or liquidate the Palestinian cause, the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement.
The European Council president underlined the EU's appreciation for Egypt's role in striving to fully implement the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Both leaders emphasized the necessity of ensuring that humanitarian aid reaches Gaza in sufficient quantities without any obstacles, to prevent the worsening of the humanitarian crisis that the residents have faced throughout the past months.
They also cautioned against the resumption of fighting and violence in the enclave, which would threaten peace and security across the entire region.
Moreover, they expressed complete rejection of Israeli attacks in the West Bank.
Besides Palestine, the meeting addressed developments in Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, and Somalia, emphasizing the importance of resolving crises through peaceful means to preserve these countries’ unity, integrity, and stability.
On the level of bilateral ties, Sisi and Costa underscored the depth of relations between Egypt and the EU, read the statement.
They affirmed both sides' commitment to enhancing cooperation in all areas, particularly in economic and investment fields, in line with their comprehensive strategic partnership agreement and its six pillars.
The discussion also addressed the issue of illegal migration, where the European official expressed appreciation for Egypt's significant success in preventing boats carrying illegal migrants from leaving Egyptian shores since 2016.
This achievement come while Egypt is currently hosting more than nine million foreigners due to various crises, the statement said, highlighting that such efforts require providing all necessary support for Egypt.
Wed, Mar. 5, 2025
