President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi affirmed Egypt’s absolute support for the UNRWA to continue to play its role in providing services to Palestinian refugees, as it is the only mechanism that carries out this important humanitarian responsibility, especially in the fields of education and health.
Al-Sisi met with Philip Lazzarini — the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) — on Saturday in the presence of Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and Head of the General Intelligence Service Major General Abbas Kamel.
Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Rady sated that the president welcomed the visit of the UNRWA commissioner, affirming Egypt’s absolute support for the agency to continue to play its role in providing basic and necessary services to Palestinian refugees, as it is the only mechanism that carries out this important humanitarian responsibility to improve the conditions of Palestinians in the Palestinian territories, especially in the field of education and health.
Al-Sisi also emphasised how Egypt stresses during its contacts with all regional and international parties the importance of providing the necessary support to the UNRWA, especially with the material conditions it faces and the negative repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, with the aim of maintaining its work in the required manner. He also affirmed the country’s readiness to contribute to supporting some of the agency’s projects, which contributes to relieving Palestinian citizens, especially through the Egyptian Initiative for the Reconstruction of Gaza, which has entered its second operational phase.
On his part, Lazzarini expressed his honour to meet the president and reviewed the role of the UNRWA and the current challenges it faces in light of the worsening situation at the regional and global levels, stressing the organisation’s reliance on Egypt’s historic and appreciated role in mobilising the support of the international community for the agency to continue its role in supporting Palestinian refugees.
The UNRWA commissioner also praised the high priority that Egypt attaches to the file of improving conditions in the Palestinian territories, especially the Gaza Strip, which is reflected in the accelerated steps taken to enhance the ongoing efforts to rebuild the strip within the framework of the Egyptian initiative to allocate $500 million for this purpose.
