El-Sisi affirms Egypt’s support for UNRWA

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi affirmed Egypt’s absolute support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees. (File/AFP)
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Updated 13 March 2022
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El-Sisi affirms Egypt’s support for UNRWA

CAIRO: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi affirmed Egypt’s “absolute support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees to continue to play its role in providing basic and necessary services to Palestinian refugees.”

During his meeting with UNRWA Commissioner General Philip Lazzarini, El-Sisi said the agency “is the only mechanism that carries out the important humanitarian responsibility of improving the conditions of Palestinians in the Palestinian territories, especially in the areas of education and health.”

He added: “Egypt stresses during its contacts with all regional and international parties the importance of providing the necessary support to UNRWA, especially with the conditions it faces and the negative repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, with the aim of maintaining the continuation of its work in the required manner.”

He alluded to Egypt’s readiness to support some of the agency’s relief projects, especially through the Egyptian Initiative for the Reconstruction of Gaza.

El-Sisi and Lazzarini reviewed UNRWA’s role and the challenges it faces. The latter stressed Egypt’s historic role in mobilizing the support of the international community for the agency to continue to support Palestinian refugees.

Lazzarini also praised the high priority that Egypt attaches to improving conditions in the Palestinian territories, especially the Gaza Strip.


Arab and Islamic states reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland

Updated 35 min 1 sec ago
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Arab and Islamic states reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland

  • Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” on Friday
  • Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity of Somalia

A group of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries, alongside the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have firmly rejected Israel’s announcement of its recognition of the Somaliland region within Somalia.

In a joint statement issued on Saturday, the ministers condemned Israel’s decision, announced on December 26, warning that the move carries “serious repercussions for peace and security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region” and undermines international peace and security, the Jordan News Agency reported.

The statement described the recognition as an unprecedented and flagrant violation of international law and the charter of the United Nations, which uphold the principles of state sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, JNA added.

Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” and signed an agreement to establish diplomatic ties, as the region’s leader hailed its first-ever official recognition.

The ministers reaffirmed their full support for the sovereignty of Somalia, rejecting any measures that would undermine its unity or territorial integrity.

They warned that recognizing the independence of parts of states sets a dangerous precedent and poses a direct threat to international peace and security.

The statement also reiterated categorical opposition to any attempt to link the move with plans to displace the Palestinian people outside their land, stressing that such proposals are rejected “in form and substance.”

Alongside the Jordanian foreign ministry, the joint statement was issued by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, The Gambia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Turkiye and Yemen, as well as the OIC.

Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Somalia, and expressed its rejection of the declaration of mutual recognition between Israel and Somaliland.