The French Embassy in Cairo has highlighted the strong alignment between French and Egyptian positions in advocating for a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reducing regional tensions. During French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné's official visit to Egypt, he met with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss Franco-Egyptian cooperation and the situation in the Middle East.
The discussions underscored the importance of avoiding divisions between European and Arab nations regarding the crisis, with France playing a pivotal role in the EU and Egypt among its Arab neighbors. Both nations are committed to facilitating hostage releases, a top priority, and have closely coordinated efforts in this regard.
France and Egypt are particularly concerned about the strikes in Palestinian Rafah and stress that Gaza is Palestinian territory, where forced displacement of the population is unacceptable. The humanitarian cooperation between the two countries has been notably successful, with the deployment of the French amphibious assault ship "Dixmude" to treat critically ill patients and conduct over 1,000 medical interventions. Furthermore, critical cases have been medically evacuated to France, a practice set to continue.
Both nations are working to mobilize resources and international support to expedite the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and remove obstacles to aid flow. They also address challenges facing UNRWA, especially in light of funding suspensions by some countries, which could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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