File Photo: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry attends a meeting with foreign ministers and officials from countries neighboring Libya to discuss the conflict in Libya, in Algiers, Algeria, January 23, 2020. REUTERS
In September 2021, Qatar handed over the presidency of the Arab League Council at the ministerial level to Kuwait during the launching of the 156th session of the Arab League Council at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Arab League.
Shoukry’s participation in the meeting aims at continuing consultations with the Arab foreign ministers on the current Arab issues and topics, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.
The top Egyptian diplomat’s participation in the meeting also seeks to coordinate stances with the aim of supporting joint Arab work mechanisms in the face of the ongoing regional and international challenges, the statement added.
During his visit to Kuwait, Shoukry will meet with a number of Arab foreign ministers for talks about bilateral relations and coordination on issues of mutual concern, according to the statement.
In a speech he delivered at the opening meeting of the 156th ordinary ministerial session of the Arab League Council in September, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah said his country will proceed with efforts to push for joint Arab action.
He also vowed that Kuwait will seek to “clear the air” among Arab states, bring their views closer, and emphasise the strength of fraternal inter-Arab ties.
In January last year, Egypt, along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, signed an agreement in the Saudi city of Al-Ula that paved the way for restoring ties with Doha and ended a boycott by the Arab quartet that started in mid-2017.
The reconciliation agreement, signed during the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit held in Saudi Arabia, came a month after the Kuwaiti foreign minister revealed fruitful discussions that had been taking place to reach an end to the Gulf rift.
The Kuwaiti statements was praised by Egypt and the UAE. Following the statements, Bahrain also called for an end to regional disputes and the UAE reiterated support to the Saudi efforts to end the rift.
During the ministerial session in September, Shoukry reiterated Egypt’s commitment to stand by all Arab countries to endure the current exceptional circumstances, voicing Cairo's welcome of the recent reconciliations between Arabs.
The top Egyptian diplomat voiced rejection of “flagrant” foreign interference in the Arab countries’ affairs. He also called for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, supporting Libya, and putting an end to the humanitarian suffering in Syria and Yemen.
He also highlighted Egypt’s stance regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam dispute with Ethiopia, affirming that Egypt calls for a binding legal agreement on the mega dam that Ethiopia has built on the Blue Nile.
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