Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Saturday that the “wave of change” that swept over the Middle East region in 2011 came to alter an unacceptable reality, according to a statement issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During his opening speech at the Manama Dialogue being held in Bahrain, Shoukry said that the past five years have proved that weakening state institutions has resulted in creating political and social vacuums, like what happened in Libya, Yemen, and Syria.
The foreign minister headed to Bahrain’s capital on Friday to attend the Manama Dialogue, which is taking place between 9-11 December.
The dialogue is being organised by a British think tank, the Bahraini Foreign Affairs Ministry, and the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS). Twenty countries will be attending the Manama Dialogue.
On the sidelines of the event, Shoukry met with French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Saturday to discuss the visions of Egypt and France regarding the ongoing regional issues, particularly the case in Libya. They also touched upon the turmoil in Syria and the importance of access of humanitarian aid across all of Syria, as well as the importance of reaching a political solution between all political factions and entities.
Shoukry also met with the Singaporean defence minister. The latter has praised the initiative of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to review the religious dialogue and discourse that will combat terrorism and extremism.
They also discussed bilateral relations, stressing on the importance of developing these relations in all fields.
