Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, met on Saturday on the sidelines of the 15th annual Islamic Summit Conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Banjul, where they discussed bilateral relations and the war in Gaza.
Shoukry and Abdollahian agreed to “continue consultations to address all outstanding topics and issues toward normalizing relations,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The meeting also touched on the Egyptian-Iranian bilateral relations in light of previous meetings between the two ministers and the directives of the leadership of both countries.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, last November on the sidelines of the Arab–Islamic extraordinary summit hosted by Saudi Arabia.
Since then, telephone contacts between the two sides have multiplied, both at the presidential and ministerial levels. They mostly focused on “the situation in the Gaza Strip, and fears of escalation of regional tension,” according to official statements from both sides.
“Developments in the region necessitate meetings between Egypt and Iran to follow up on decisions taken in previous summits, especially with regard to bilateral relations,” Ali el-Hefny, Egypt's former ambassador to China and former deputy foreign minister, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
According to Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid, Shoukry and Abdollahian’s meeting on Saturday addressed key issues of the Islamic Summit agenda. “The two ministers agreed on the importance of bolstering unity among Islamic countries amid immense challenges,” the spokesman said.
The ministers also discussed the ongoing war in Gaza. Shoukry was keen to inform his Iranian counterpart of the Egyptian efforts aimed at reaching a truce in the Palestinian enclave that would allow the exchange of hostages and detainees to reach a full and permanent ceasefire.
The two men then stressed their rejection of any ground military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah that would “put the lives of more than a million Palestinians at imminent danger and would worsen the humanitarian situation in the strip.”
Iran and Egypt ended diplomatic relations in 1979. Ties were resumed 11 years later but on the level of Chargé d'Affaires.
Several meetings were held in the past months between Egyptian and Iranian ministers to discuss the possibility of developing bilateral ties.
Last May, the Iranian President directed the Foreign Ministry to take the necessary measures to enhance relations with Egypt.
On Saturday, Shoukry briefed his Iranian counterpart on the outcome of meetings he held recently on the sidelines the World Economic Forum, and contacts he made with European officials to resolve the crisis in Gaza.
He stressed the urgency of an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip while calling for continued entry of urgent humanitarian aid “completely, safely, and without obstacles.”
The Egyptian minister also affirmed the importance of encouraging countries to recognize a Palestinian state, adding that this would contribute to strengthening efforts to establish a Palestinian state based on the two-state solution.
