Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is among the participants in the eighth ministerial forum of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), which commenced on Monday in Barcelona, Spain. The forum serves as a platform to examine the evolving situation in the Gaza Strip and its potential repercussions across the region.
Marking the UfM’s 15th anniversary, the forum provides an Uopportune moment to analyze the region’s dire circumstances and explore potential solutions moving forward. The gathering will bring together the foreign ministers of the 43 UfM member states, led by the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares and UfM Secretary-General Nasser Kamel will host the event.
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, stated that an Arab-Islamic ministerial committee will convene in Barcelona alongside Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares to present the outcomes and resolutions of the recent Arab-Islamic Summit. The committee will also participate in a ministerial roundtable organized by the UfM Ministerial Forum, titled “Developments in the Situation in Israel, Palestine-Gaza, and the Region.”
The forum will facilitate an exchange of views on the complex situation in the Gaza Strip, emphasizing the need to strengthen regional cooperation and pursue a ceasefire to protect civilians facing unprecedented humanitarian suffering.
Foreign Minister Shoukry is scheduled to travel to New York on Tuesday to join other members of the Ministerial Committee for the regular Security Council briefing on the Middle East situation. The Security Council, under the leadership of China’s presidency, has decided to convene this session at the ministerial level to address the unfolding developments in the Gaza Strip.
The objective is to reiterate the Arab and Islamic positions calling for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip and to urge the Security Council to fulfil its responsibility in seeking a comprehensive ceasefire and halting Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law.
The ministerial committee will also advocate for the adoption of the Arab-Islamic draft resolution on unimpeded, adequate, and sustainable humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip.
During its meetings in New York, the committee will emphasize the urgent need to revive the peace process on a serious and expeditious basis, ensuring the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital within a specified timeframe. This aligns with the vision of a two-state solution and the pursuit of lasting peace in the region.
