Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh shoukry Head of Egyptian General Intelligence Abbas Kamel during their meeting in Cairo, on Saturday 12 March, 2022. Photo courtesy of Egyptian Presidential spokesman Facebook page.
The UN relief agency is the only mechanism with a humanitarian responsibility towards the Palestinian people, especially in the fields of education and health, the president said during a meeting with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini in Cairo on Saturday.
El-Sisi also said that Egypt always stresses to all regional and international parties the necessity of providing support to UNRWA, particularly amid its current financial crisis and the coroanvirus pandemic.
The Egyptian president voiced the country's readiness to support some of UNRWA's projects to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians, especially through the Egyptian initiative to reconstruct the Gaza Strip, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said.
During the meeting, Lazzarini highlighted the challenges facing the agency, hailing Egypt's efforts in mobilising international support so that the UN body can push ahead with efforts to support the Palestinian refugees.
He also hailed the country's keenness to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip, added the spokesman.
Following the mediation of a ceasefire between the Israeli and Palestinian sides to end the 11-day onslaught on Gaza in May 2021, Egypt allocated $500 million to reconstruct the Strip.
Following the May conflict, Egypt has also dispatched massive engineering equipment and crews to participate in the Gaza Strip reconstruction alongside tonnes of humanitarian aid.
The World Bank has estimated that rebuilding Gaza after the latest devastating war will cost up to $485 million.
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