Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, attends the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Antalya, Turkey, Friday, March 1, 2024. AP
Addressing the political consultative meeting between Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh, Shoukry said the crisis in Gaza demonstrates the inability of the international community to obtain a ceasefire or to put an end to the Israeli practices.
Shoukry also reiterated Egypt’s warnings of the grave consequences of any ground military operation by Israel in the border city of Rafah, whether at the humanitarian or the regional security level.
He also stressed the urgency of putting an end to Israeli practices that obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying that all aid should enter Gaza, including northern Gaza.
Shoukry highlighted the serious regional conflicts caused by the Israeli nearly five-month-long war, referring to the Red Sea escalation and its impacts on international trade.
The US and the UK have repeatedly struck Houthi sites in Yemen after the latter attacked Israel-bound ships in the Red Sea in response to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
Egypt’s top diplomat warned of the rapid expansion of regional turmoils, underscoring that the Israeli war casts a dark shadow on the security of the region.
Shoukry stressed that the security solutions yielded nothing but destruction to the region, adding that there is no solution except by establishing a Palestinian state.
He urged an immediate ceasefire in the strip, where Israel has killed over 30,000 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children.
For his part, Secretary General of the GCC Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi reaffirmed the Arab position demanding a ceasefire and the cessation of the Israeli war against the strip.
He also stressed the necessity of ensuring access to humanitarian aid in Gaza and providing all forms of support to the Palestinian people.
GERD dispute
During the meeting, Shoukry reviewed the latest developments in the long-running dispute caused by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), highlighting Ethiopia’s intransigent approach during the negotiations with Egypt and Sudan.
Addis Ababa, Shoukry stressed, does not take into account the principles of good neighbourliness, which prompted Egypt to stop its participation in the GERD negotiations.
Both Egypt and Sudan have been seeking a binding deal on the filling and operation of the dam but to no avail, as they fear the consequences of unilateral filling and operation of the GERD.
However, Ethiopia, which seeks non-binding guidelines on the dam's filling and operation rules, has unilaterally completed four fillings of the GERD's reservoir.
Albudaiwi stressed that the water security of Egypt and Sudan is an integral part of that of Arab national security.
He voiced the GCC’s rejection of any measure that affects the rights of the two countries to the waters of the Nile.
Short link: