Ashraf AboArafe
On July 28, Dr. Badr Abdel Aaty, Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Migration, met with Mr. Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, on the sidelines of the High-Level International Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Palestinian Question and Implementation of the Two-State Solution, held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Minister Abdel Aaty praised the strong cooperation and coordination between Egypt and Pakistan, highlighting the close alignment of views on key international issues of mutual concern. He emphasized Egypt’s keenness to continue consultations with Pakistan through existing bilateral mechanisms, particularly the Joint Ministerial Committee co-chaired by the foreign ministers of both countries, as well as within multilateral frameworks. He also expressed hope that Pakistan, in its current capacity as President of the UN Security Council, would support priority issues for both nations, especially the situation in Gaza. He stressed the need to ensure the safe, sustainable, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.
On economic and trade relations, Abdel Aaty expressed Egypt’s aspiration to expand bilateral ties in these vital fields, calling on Pakistan to increase its investments in Egypt, particularly within the Suez Canal Economic Zone. He also encouraged the revival of the Egypt–Pakistan Business Council and urged the Pakistani private sector to seize the promising investment opportunities in the Egyptian market. The discussion also touched on enhancing cooperation in health and the pharmaceutical industry, with a special focus on combating hepatitis C.
The two ministers also discussed the latest developments concerning the Israeli war on Gaza. Minister Abdel Aaty reviewed Egypt’s ongoing mediation efforts, in coordination with Qatar and the United States, aimed at reaching a ceasefire and facilitating humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip. He further noted Egypt’s intention to host an international conference on early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza, once a ceasefire agreement is reached. This initiative will be coordinated with the United Nations and the Palestinian Authority and is intended to mobilize support for implementing the Arab-Islamic plan for Gaza’s reconstruction.
