Egyptian, Lebanese FMs Hold Talks on Sidelines of Arab Ministerial Meeting

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry meets with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib in Kuwait on Sunday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry meets with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib in Kuwait on Sunday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egyptian, Lebanese FMs Hold Talks on Sidelines of Arab Ministerial Meeting

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry meets with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib in Kuwait on Sunday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry meets with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib in Kuwait on Sunday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed on Sunday with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib bilateral relations and ways to bolster Egyptian and Arab efforts to support Lebanon.

During talks held on the sidelines of the consultative meeting of the Arab foreign ministers, currently hosted by Kuwait, the two officials also tackled the latest Lebanese political developments.

Shoukry stressed that Egypt's participation in the meeting aims at maintaining consultations with Arab countries to confront common challenges.

On Saturday, Shoukry met with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah for talks on relations between their countries.

Following the meeting, the Egyptian FM underscored the strong relations that unite their countries and peoples, and the importance of continuing to work on developing areas of bilateral cooperation in line with the deeply-rooted relations and the directives of the two countries’ leaderships.

Kuwait is current chair of the 156th session of the League Council at the level of Foreign Ministers.

Shoukry expressed Egypt’s hope to host this year the 13th session of the Egyptian-Kuwaiti Joint Ministerial Committee, which is the most comprehensive framework for promoting the various aspects of relations between the two countries, said the FM’s spokesperson, Ahmed Hafez.

Shoukry emphasized Egypt’s firm rejection of any interference in the affairs of Arab countries.

For his part, the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister stressed his country’s appreciation of Egypt’s role as a mainstay of security and stability in the region.

He also expressed Kuwait’s support for the tangible developmental boom that Egypt is witnessing, and for all that preserves Egypt’s security and stability, and achieves the interests of both countries and their aspiration towards further prosperity and development.



Pope Calls Situation in Gaza 'Shameful'

Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
TT

Pope Calls Situation in Gaza 'Shameful'

Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Pope Francis on Thursday stepped up his recent criticisms of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave "very serious and shameful.”

In a yearly address to diplomats delivered on his behalf by an aide, Francis appeared to reference deaths caused by winter cold in Gaza, where there is almost no electricity.

"We cannot in any way accept the bombing of civilians," the text said, according to Reuters.
"We cannot accept that children are freezing to death because hospitals have been destroyed or a country's energy network has been hit."

The pope, 88, was present for the address but asked an aide to read it for him as he is recovering from a cold.

The comments were part of an address to Vatican-accredited envoys from some 184 countries that is sometimes called the pope's 'state of the world' speech. The Israeli ambassador to the Holy See was among those present for the event.

Francis, leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts.
But he has recently been more outspoken about Israel's military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas, and has suggested
the global community should study whether the offensive constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people.
An Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pontiff in December for that suggestion.

The pope's text said he condemns anti-Semitism, and called the growth of anti-Semitic groups "a source of deep concern."
Francis also called for an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia, which has killed tens of thousands.