Egypt's Foreign Minister Samhe Shoukry meeting with a delegation from the American Jewish committee on Friday (Photo: Courtesy of Egypt's Foreign Ministry)
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed on Friday peacekeeping matters with a delegation from the American Jewish group, and, in a separate meeting, with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
Shoukry met with the delegation of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
The meeting focused on ways to resume the peace process in the Middle East and Egyptian efforts to achieve Palestinian reconciliation, and with Egyptian-American relations, in light of the strategic nature of these relations and the common interests of both countries.
The delegation listened to a presentation on developments in regard to the Palestinian issue and the efforts exerted to resume peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis on the basis of agreed international references and a two-state solution to reach a permanent solution, a statement from the Egyptian foreign ministry read.
Shoukry stressed that the importance of the role played by various US departments in activating and strengthening American relations with Egypt, stressing the importance of intensifying coordination and political consultation on regional issues, especially in light of the successive crises and increasing challenges and risks facing the Middle East.
Shoukry and Lacroix discussed ways to support and enhance the effectiveness of UN peacekeeping operations.
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry meeting with Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Peacekeeping Operations, John Pierre Lacroix (Photo: Courtesy of Egypt's Foreign Ministry)
The UN official was keen to thank the Egyptian government for the continued Egyptian contribution to peacekeeping operations, ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said in the statement.
The meeting tackled developments in Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic, the statement read.
Lacroix praised Egypt's efforts towards achieving stability in Mali, and stressed the importance of the role that the United Nations should play, in cooperation with the African Union, in Mali and Burkina Faso.
He expressed his keenness to continue close and strategic cooperation with Egypt in all these issues during the Egyptian chairing of the African Union in 2019.
Shoukry affirmed that Egypt is continuing its regional and international efforts in the field of peacekeeping and peace building in order to reach the broader goal of sustaining peace globally, in line with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations.
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