Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday received the US Senior Advisor for Africa and Senior Advisor to the President on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs Massad Boulos.
The meeting was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdel-Atty, Director of the General Intelligence Service Hassan Rashad, US Ambassador to Egypt Herro Mustafa Garg, Deputy Assistant Secretary for North Africa Joshua Harris were present.
The Spokesperson for the Egyptian Presidency, Mohamed al-Shennawy explained that the meeting addressed the latest developments in the Middle East and ways to restore regional stability.
President Sisi urged the reaching of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza Strip and facilitating the flow of humanitarian aid.
He hailed the joint mediation efforts between Qatar, Egypt and the US, and affirmed Egypt’s commitment to continue this coordination.
Boulos assured of America’s commitment to continuing its joint efforts with Egypt to restore regional calm while satisfying the interests of all parties.
New hostage release proposal
The BBC reported that Cairo had presented a new proposal that includes the release of between eight and 10 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners, in addition to a ceasefire of 45 to 60 days, including the resumption of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli channel Kan reported that Hamas and Israel had agreed to conduct negotiations without mutual conditions.
Other topics
The meeting also addressed the situation in Libya and ways to restore stability. Sisi reiterated Egypt’s commitment to a Libyan-Libyan solution.
Egypt has been and remains the country most impacted by Libya’s instability, the President stressed.
He added that it is also the most dedicated to supporting all proposed political settlement steps for a unified government backed by the Libyan people, with political support from the House of Representatives, the High Council of State, and the Presidential Council – whose core mission would be holding simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections.
The meeting also touched on the situation in Lebanon, Sudan, and Yemen. Both sides stressed the urgency of protecting the stability in these countries and safeguarding their resources, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
The meeting also covered developments in Africa, particularly in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel regions, and efforts to underpin stability in those regions. They discussed strengthening the role of governments and state institutions there to serve the interests of their people.
