Egypt's El-Sisi to inaugurate Sunday's Gaza aid conference with speech

Ahram Online, Saturday 11 Oct 2014

The aid conference aims to attract donations for a Gaza ravaged by a 50-day Israeli offensive

El-Sisi
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi speaks during celebrations ahead of the 41st anniversary of the October 6, 1973 surprise attack, at the Army War College in Cairo October 1, 2014 (Photo: Reuters)

Egypt President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will inaugurate Sunday's Gaza aid conference, attended by dignitaries from the US and other countries, by delivering a speech, reported Egypt's state news agency MENA on Saturday.

The conference, which is taking place six weeks after a 50-day Israeli offensive on Gaza, will be attended by Secretary of State John Kerry and his counterparts from dozens of countries, including France, Italy, Japan and Jordan.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and EU foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton will also be among the participants.

The conference aims at generating donations for a destroyed Gaza. The Palestinian Authority is hoping that moves by a new unity government toward assuming control in Hamas-dominated Gaza could make wealthy donor governments less wary of providing reconstruction funds.

The Authority looks to gather $4 billion in aid pledges to rebuild the Gaza Strip after it was devastated by a 50-day Israeli offensive on Gaza.

Cairo also sponsored indirect talks last August between the Israeli government and Palestinian factions that halted the offensive on Gaza.

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