Egyptian Foreign Minister meets with UN Special Coordinator – Egyptian Foreign Ministry press release/Non-UN document

The Minister of Foreign Affairs meets with the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process

19 January 2010…

Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry stated that Foreign Minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit received, on January 19^th, 2010, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Mr. Robert Serry and the accompanied delegation.

The Spokesman outlined that the meeting with the UN official tackled the latest ongoing developments regarding the efforts to resume the peace process, especially in light of the recent developments, on the top of which is the visit conducted by the Egyptian High Level delegation to Washington, as well as the European visit conducted by US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Senator George Mitchell.

The Spokesman pointed out that Aboul Gheit, during the meeting, expressed the need to exert more efforts in order to regain the required impetus to achieve peace, since the current impasse harms the stability and the future of the Palestinian cause. The Spokesman also highlighted the shared positions during the meeting regarding to not put pressure on the Palestinian to resume negotiations unless Israel takes specific steps to prove its goodwill in resuming the negotiations according to the required basis.

The meeting also tackled the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and the special representative was briefed about the Egyptian efforts in this regard, as well as the UN efforts to send some construction materials like glass to the Strip, the Spokesman added. Mr. Serry affirmed that there is development in the Israeli stance in this regard, which would lead to the entrance of some materials used in the reconstruction of the Strip, the Spokesman said. Also, Aboul Gheit pointed out Egypt's willingness to cooperate with the UN in this issue, for the welfare of the Palestinians in Gaza.