French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo: AFP
The US President Donald Trump is expected to attend a world leaders summit in Sharm El-Sheikh this week focused on Gaza’s post-war future.
The summit, called by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, is likely to take place on Tuesday, though the timing could shift to Monday.
El-Sisi and Trump are expected to lead the summit, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday, without indicating when it would take place.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday discussed arrangements for the gathering, including for "international participation in the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, as well as preparations for the implementation of the first phase of the (ceasefire) deal".
Earlier Trump had said he would meet a "lot of leaders" in Egypt on Monday to discuss the future of devastated Gaza.
Leaders or foreign ministers of the UK, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Qatar, Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Indonesia were invited to participate in the summit.
On Friday afternoon, a ceasefire officially took effect in the Gaza Strip after the Israeli Cabinet approved a deal following four days of talks between Israel and Hamas in Sharm El-Sheikh, ending the Israeli two-year genocidal war on the Strip.
The talks aimed to implement the first phase of President Trump’s plan.
The Elysee said that Macron's trip was a continuation of a Franco-Saudi initiative to foster peace and security in the Middle East, based on "the two-state solution" of Palestinian and Israeli states coexisting.
On 22 September, France officially recognised the Palestinian state.
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