Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty returned this week from the US where he held meetings with US and international officials about the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip and the use of starvation as a weapon against the Palestinians.
Abdelatty emphasised that the implementation of the two-state solution is key to resolving the Gaza crisis and to regional stability.
In Washington, Abdelatty held a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which they discussed the pressing issue of peace and security in the Middle East. The meeting, described as “productive” by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, also addressed enhancing bilateral ties and confronting key regional issues.
Abdelatty highlighted the necessity of implementing a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and drawing up a political roadmap to achieve a just and durable resolution to the Palestinian issue. He said that any political settlement should take the form of an independent Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders.
In his address to the UN High-Level International Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which took place 28-30 July, Abdelatty called for a clear political horizon based on the full implementation of the two-state solution.
He called on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories and halt all unilateral actions, including settlement expansion, in line with key UN Security Council resolutions.
He reiterated Egypt’s firm opposition to the forced displacement of people from Gaza and to any Israeli moves to impose sovereignty over the West Bank.
The conference issued a statement saying that “war, occupation, and displacement cannot achieve peace… the two-state solution is the way to meet the aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians.”
It emphasised the importance of recognising the state of Palestine and granting it full membership in the United Nations.
Tarek Fahmi, a political science professor at Cairo University, said the conference is expected to reap fruit during the September session of the UN General Assembly, during which future policies will be drawn up in the light of the French and other countries’ recognition of the state of Palestine.
That is in addition to the UK, which said it would recognise Palestine if no ceasefire is reached.
The conference is an expression of the genuine concern of the attendees to resolve the Palestinian issue, Fahmi said, adding that it promoted the two-state solution as the way to resolve the Palestinian issue according to UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and the principle of land for peace.
Karim Al-Kadi, a senior researcher at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, agreed that the conference promoted the principle of the two-state solution, but lamented that the main players, the US and Israel, were not present.
Nonetheless, he added, the conference showed that there are many other parties in Europe and the world who support that principle.
The conference, co-organised by France and Saudi Arabia, was held last week in New York.
Former deputy to Egypt’s foreign minister Mohamed Hegazi said that the conference had aimed to draw up a roadmap for the two-state solution.
Abdelatty’s participation underlined Egypt’s willingness to resolve the Palestinian issue and to ease the suffering of the people in Gaza by exerting every effort to transfer aid to the Gaza Strip, he told Al-Ahram Weekly.
In their meeting, Abdelatty and Rubio also tackled the transition to civilian governance in Sudan.
Egypt currently hosts some 1.5 million Sudanese refugees who fled their country to escape the civil war that erupted in Sudan in April 2023. The refugees are putting pressure on the already struggling economy in Egypt.
The two men also discussed Egypt’s water security in their meeting.
Holding regular meetings with US officials is a necessity given the strategic relations that bind both states, Al-Kadi explained. “Continuous diplomatic dialogue between Cairo and Washington is required now more than at any other time given the situation in Gaza and the disruption and instability in the region,” he said.
Keeping dialogue open and trying to find a solution to an issue that is as important as Egypt’s water security is a must, he added.
During his visit to Washington, Abdelatty also held a series of meetings with senior US senators. During these meetings, he outlined Egypt’s pivotal regional role in promoting security and peace, as well as its ongoing mediation efforts, in coordination with Qatar and the US, to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
He stressed the urgent need for a permanent ceasefire, particularly given the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
He reaffirmed Egypt’s unwavering commitment to supporting the peace process and achieving a just and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution and international legitimacy.
On the bilateral level, Abdelatty highlighted the strong cooperation in political, military, and economic fields between Egypt and the US and emphasised that this collaboration serves the mutual interests of both countries and contributes to security and stability in the region.
The meetings, Fahmi explained, reflected the fact that any approach towards the US administration is at present primarily linked with Gaza.
“The meetings reemphasise the size and importance of bilateral political and strategic relations in addition to the fact that Washington is keen to give Egypt a major role in the Gaza file. Any settlement in Gaza will not be achieved without security arrangements with Egypt,” he said.
The water security issue was also discussed during Abdelatty’s meeting with Senator Lindsey Graham, during which he expressed concerns regarding Egypt’s water security, emphasising “the rejection of unilateral measures that violate international law.”
He also asserted that Cairo would take all necessary measures, within the framework of international law, to protect its water security.
This was in reference to Ethiopia’s recent completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Egypt has long been in dispute with Ethiopia regarding the signing of a legally binding agreement on the filling and future operation of the dam.
US President Donald Trump has recently offered to intervene in the dispute in order to “quickly resolve” the issue. However, Egypt said that it is waiting for words to be reflected in deeds.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 7 August, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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