Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty meets his British counterpart Yvette Cooper in New York. Photo: Egyptian foreign ministry
Abdelatty made his remarks during a meeting with his British counterpart, Yvette Cooper, on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Abdelatty has hailed the UK's recognition of a Palestinian state as a "historic step,” according to a statement by the foreign ministry.
Abdelatty described the move as an "extremely important message to the Palestinian people", adding that it reflected the international community’s commitment to achieving their aspirations and establishing an independent state.
Abdelatty urged the international community to take decisive positions to end Israel’s blatant practices in the occupied Palestinian territories, its war on Gaza, and its policy of starvation against innocent civilians.
He pointed to the catastrophic deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza and Israel’s continued obstruction of the entry of relief and medical aid.
Iranian nuclear programme
Addressing the Iranian nuclear file, Abdelatty noted that Egypt’s diplomatic efforts contributed to reaching the Cairo agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to resume technical cooperation.
He underlined the importance of allowing diplomacy to rebuild trust and create an environment conducive to achieving regional security and stability.
The Egyptian FM emphasized that Egypt’s recent intensive efforts sought to de-escalate tensions and prepare the ground for the resumption of negotiations between the two sides.
During the meeting, Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s keenness to further develop bilateral relations with the UK across political, economic, trade, and investment fields, and to elevate these ties to the level of a strategic partnership to benefit both countries.
He expressed Egypt’s anticipation of the upcoming visit of the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Cairo, in order to build on the positive momentum in relations between both countries.
Diplomatic engagements
According to the Egyptian foreign ministry, Abdelatty also held separate meeting with several counterparts, including Italy’s Antonio Tajani, Hungary’s Péter Szijjártó, Oman’s Badr Al Busaidi, Iraq’s FM Fuad Hussein, and Côte d'Ivoire’s Kacou Houadja Léon Adom.
He also met with prominent EU leaders, including the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, President of the European Council António Costa, and the EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner.
Additionally, Abdelatty held meetings with US President Senior Advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs Massad Boulos, President of the African Union Commission Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, and President of the International Crisis Group Comfort Ero.
On the sidelines of the 80th UNGA, the Egyptian FM hosted a ministerial meeting on Gaza’s early recovery and reconstruction and also met with representatives of the member states of the Borrowing Countries Platform, during a session organised by Egypt and Zambia.
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