Macron, Sisi Discuss Regional, Int’l Issues

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L), before their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 22 July 2022. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L), before their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 22 July 2022. (EPA)
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Macron, Sisi Discuss Regional, Int’l Issues

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L), before their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 22 July 2022. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (L), before their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 22 July 2022. (EPA)

French President Emmanuel Macron received in Paris on Friday his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for official talks on a range of international and regional developments.

Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Rady said the Egyptian-French summit tackled several regional issues, especially developments in the Palestinian Territories and efforts to revive the peace process.

Macron expressed his appreciation of Cairo’s role to that end, he added.

Sisi, for his part, stressed his country’s firm position for the need to reach a just and comprehensive solution that ensures the rights of the Palestinian people and establishes an independent state according to international resolutions.

They addressed developments in Libya and Lebanon.

Sisi said there can be no settlement to crises there without political solutions that preserve their territorial integrity and national institutions.

Macron said France was eager to intensify coordination with Egypt over affairs in the Middle East given its influential role in the region, Rady added.

France is Sisi’s third stop in a tour of Europe that had taken him to Germany and Serbia.

His talks in Paris are part of the ongoing consultations between Paris and Cairo and the close political, defense, economic, trade, cultural and scientific ties that bind them.

Sis and Macron have met five times in the past two years. Sisi visited Paris twice in 2021 to take part in conferences on Sudan, Libya and oceans.

Official sources in Paris said France is “very keen” on consulting with Egypt given the “significant” role Cairo plays in several crises. They revealed that Paris is eager to cooperate with Egypt over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Macron had received Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday. Their talks focused on reviving Palestinian-Israeli negotiations that have been suspended since 2014.

In early July, the French president welcome Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid.



Arab Foreign Ministers to Discuss Political Solutions to Iran-Israel Conflict in Istanbul

Arab foreign ministers during their last meeting in Baghdad. (Arab League)
Arab foreign ministers during their last meeting in Baghdad. (Arab League)
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Arab Foreign Ministers to Discuss Political Solutions to Iran-Israel Conflict in Istanbul

Arab foreign ministers during their last meeting in Baghdad. (Arab League)
Arab foreign ministers during their last meeting in Baghdad. (Arab League)

Arab foreign ministers are set to convene on the sidelines of the upcoming Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Istanbul early next week to discuss the repercussions of the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict and explore diplomatic avenues to reduce regional tensions, Egyptian and Arab diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The call for the meeting was spearheaded by Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, who urged an emergency session of Arab foreign ministers in Istanbul to coordinate a unified Arab stance amid rapidly evolving developments and regional challenges.

Iraq currently holds the rotating presidency of the Arab League, having assumed the role from Bahrain at the regular summit held on May 17.

The Iraqi foreign ministry confirmed that the minister’s proposal followed a phone call with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty on Wednesday.

Egypt’s foreign ministry had earlier announced that Abdelatty engaged in consultations with ministers from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain to address the escalating military tensions and the broader implications for regional and international peace and security.

An Arab diplomatic source said the upcoming meeting aims to discuss the impact of the Israeli-Iranian conflict and is part of intensified efforts to coordinate regional positions and ease the crisis.

The 51st Council of Foreign Ministers meeting of OIC member states, hosted in Istanbul on June 22-23, will gather nearly 1,000 participants from the organization’s 57 member states, along with affiliated institutions, observer states, and international organizations, reported Türkiye's Anadolu Agency.

However, the source ruled out any immediate plans for an emergency Arab League summit to address the conflict.

Another Egyptian diplomatic official told Asharq Al-Awsat that the OIC foreign ministers’ meeting would feature several bilateral and multilateral sessions focused on regional coordination, adding that the Istanbul meetings aim to revive diplomatic negotiations.

Egypt and several Arab countries have intensified diplomatic outreach to regional and international actors to push for a military de-escalation, a ceasefire, and prevent the conflict from spreading across the Middle East, the source said.

Cairo University’s Professor of International Relations Ikram Badreddine highlighted the importance of a coordinated Arab and Islamic position, describing it as a significant regional and international bloc.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that “aligned stances among these countries could influence the current escalation and promote conflict containment.”

He also warned of the risks posed by failure to contain the Israel-Iran conflict, including the potential involvement of major powers such as the United States, Russia, and Pakistan, which could further destabilize the region.