During a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Cairo on Tuesday, Szijjártó praised Egypt's efforts to combat migrant smuggling despite the rising regional escalation over the past years.

Egypt, home to nine million migrants from 133 countries, launched a national strategy for combating and preventing illegal migration in 2016. Under the strategy, the authorities have introduced strict penalties for human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

Not a single irregular migrant boat has since crossed the Egyptian maritime border to Europe.

Szijjártó underscored that peace requires a swift end to conflicts in the region and a halt to irregular migration. Egypt, he asserted, is playing a central role in achieving both goals. 

“If Egypt had allowed migrants to pass through, we would have faced overwhelming waves of migration that Europe couldn’t have managed,” explained Szijjártó.

Egypt’s actions have effectively prevented any pressure on Europe in this regard, he pointed out.

He added that with Africa’s population expected to grow significantly in the next 20 years, this could lead to either a humanitarian crisis or a surge of migration into Europe. To prevent both, a developmental strategy for Africa must be implemented. 

Szijjártó warned that Africa's rapidly growing population in the coming 20 years could lead to a humanitarian crisis or a surge of migration into Europe unless a comprehensive development strategy is implemented.

He urged the European Union to transfer promised financial support to Egypt and provide additional assistance through the European Peace Facility to help secure Egypt's borders with Libya and Sudan.

Both Libyan and Sudan pose significant challenges related to irregular migration, he noted.

Gaza Ceasefire

On the Middle East, Szijjártó urged for de-escalation of the Israeli war in the Gaza strip, saying “Our priority is to prevent further escalation, and we appreciate Egypt's role in maintaining stability.”

He also urged continued efforts to free hostages, including a Hungarian citizen.

FM Abdelatty reiterated “The only solution to the conflict in the region lies in establishing an independent Palestinian state.” 

Egypt's top diplomat also emphasized the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, a prisoner exchange, and sustained and uninstructed humanitarian aid access for Gazans.

Egypt, Qatar, and the United States have been consistently engaged in mediation efforts to end the 11-month-long Israeli military aggression on the Gaza Strip. 

On Tuesday, during Antony Blinken’s current visit to Egypt, Egypt will likely press the Biden administration for a more definitive stance on the Israeli army presence at the Egypt-Gaza border. 

Blinken is expected to discuss “ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that facilitates the release of all hostages, eases the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people, and contributes to broader regional security,” said the US Department of State. 

GERD Dispute

Egypt’s top diplomat also tackled the dispute caused by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), affirming that Egypt will never compromise on a single drop of its share of Nile water, especially since the country’s current share falls short of its annual needs.

For over a decade, Egypt has sought a legally binding agreement with Ethiopia regarding the filling and operating of the controversial dam.

Egypt has repeatedly voiced its concerns about its operation and the threat it poses to its access to Nile water in the absence of a legally binding agreement, but the negotiations failed to make a breakthrough.

Addis Ababa has unilaterally completed four phases of filling the disputed dam and put two turbines into operation despite the absence of an agreement with downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan.

Cairo has lodged objections with the United Nations Security Council over Ethiopia's intransigence in unilaterally filling the GERD.

Egypt, which already suffers from a severe water shortage and depends on the Nile for its water supply, receives about 55.5 bcm of Nile water.

Egypt’s per capita water supply is 550 m3 annually, well below the internationally recognised threshold for water scarcity of 1,000 m3.