Ashraf AboArafe
Today Wednesday, Dr. Badr Abdel Aati Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, received a phone call from Ms. Penny Wong, Australian Foreign Minister.
In a press statement by Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, he stated that “Wong” was keen at the beginning of the meeting to congratulate the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the occasion of assuming his duties, and expressed her aspiration to continue working and coordinating with Egypt on regional and international issues of interest to both sides during the coming period. For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed Egypt’s keenness to develop relations with Australia in various fields, and to work to enhance consultation and coordination between the two countries in international forums.
The official spokesman added that the call touched on various aspects of bilateral relations between the two countries, as Dr. Abdel-Ati welcomed the fourth round of political consultations at the level of Assistant Foreign Ministers, which was held on June 26, 2024 in Cairo, stressing that Egypt attaches great importance to strengthening economic, trade and investment relations with Australia, which include the sectors of mining, irrigation and engineering consulting, and its aspiration to receive more investments in the field of renewable energy and green hydrogen.
The official spokesman added that the two ministers discussed a number of regional issues, most notably the ongoing war in Gaza, where Wong praised the important Egyptian role since the outbreak of the crisis and the tireless Egyptian efforts aimed at a ceasefire and the implementation of humanitarian aid. In this regard, Dr. Abdel-Ati reviewed the intensive Egyptian efforts in cooperation with the American and Qatari sides, with the aim of stopping the war immediately and ending the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people, stressing that the continuation of the Gaza Strip crisis is the main reason for the escalation of tensions and confrontation in the region.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also stressed Egypt’s position rejecting Israeli escalation policies, the policy of assassinations and the violation of state sovereignty, noting that these policies will not serve the interests of any of the parties, and will only lead to fueling the conflict in a way that makes it difficult to contain the crisis. He reviewed the outcome of the contacts that Egypt made with various parties to prevent the expansion of the conflict in the region and achieve calm and self-control.
On the other hand, Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid explained that the contact touched on the developments in the situation in Sudan and the difficult humanitarian situation that the brotherly Sudanese people are facing, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs reviewed the overall Egyptian efforts in this context, stressing that Egypt is sparing no effort to stop the war in Sudan and build consensus through a Sudanese-Sudanese national dialogue based on a purely Sudanese vision, expressing his hope that the current efforts will result in a ceasefire, stop the bloodshed of the Sudanese people and put an end to the humanitarian crisis that the Sudanese people have been experiencing over the past months.
At the end of the call, the two sides agreed to continue the pace of consultation and work to strengthen Egyptian/Australian relations in all fields, and joint coordination on regional and international issues of interest, as well as within the framework of international forums, and work to continue exchanging support for the two countries’ nominations in various international organizations and bodies, in a way that serves the interests of both countries.
