CAIRO, Dec 28 (MENA) – Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty said 2025 had been one of the most challenging years amid heightened uncertainty across the region and the world, noting that Egypt faced major tests during the year, including developments in the Palestinian issue, the crisis in Sudan, and the situations in Libya, Syria and Lebanon, as well as tensions in the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa and issues related to water security.
In an interview with MBC Masr television on Sunday, Abdelatty said these challenges coincided with highly complex security conditions that had direct repercussions for Egypt, particularly in light of intense global polarization.
He added that the Egyptian state, with its strong institutions, had nonetheless been able to manage these overlapping files efficiently.
He said efforts were not limited to the Foreign Ministry, but took place within an integrated, institutional framework under the direct guidance of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and in line with the consistent principles of Egyptian foreign policy, foremost among them the doctrine of “strategic balance,” outlined by the president during the Egyptian Family Iftar, to ensure responses to challenges are grounded in clear vision and firm foundations.
On the Palestinian issue and the second phase of the Gaza agreement, Abdelatty said one party was violating the ceasefire on a daily basis and was slow to move into the second phase, despite the completion of most commitments under the first phase, which included the release of 25 detainees alive and the handover of 27 bodies, with one body still outstanding.
He said Egyptian efforts on the ground were continuing to search for the remaining body amid thousands of tonnes of unexploded ordnance and massive debris from widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip.
The top diplomat said there was no justification for delaying the announcement of the start of the second phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza and the West Bank.
