Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with his Irish and Portuguese counterparts Sunday calling on both ministers to support Egypt’s nomination for a non-permanent seat on the 2016 UN Security Council.

Shoukry met the ministers seperately on the sidelines of the 69th UN General Assembly in New York.

Shoukry told both ministers that Egypt deserves the seat because of its regional status and its peacekeeping and stability roles, foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdel-Ati told Al-Ahram Arabic website.

During the meetings, Shoukry also reviewed ongoing Egyptian efforts to keep a ceasefire agreement between Palestinian factions and Israel in place, as well as Egypt’s take on the situation in Syria and Iraq. 

Egypt championed an open-ended ceasefire between Palestinian factions and Israel after 51 days of war this summer. It has also adopted a plan to disarm Libya’s Islamist militia, although not yet in effect.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi expressed his wish, in his speech to the UN General Assembly Wednesday, that Egypt would gain non-permanent membership in the Security Council.