Dr. Badr Abdel-Aati, Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs, received today, Sunday, Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

During the meeting, Minister Abdel-Aati expressed Egypt’s full support for the activities of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to enhance effective crisis response in the Middle East, especially in the occupied Palestinian territories, appreciating the UN office’s efforts to protect Palestinian civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid access.

The Foreign Minister reviewed Egypt’s intensive efforts over the past two years to stop the war in Gaza, discussing with the UN official the implementation steps of the first phase of the recently reached agreement, including ensuring sufficient humanitarian aid access. He emphasized the importance of supporting the UN office’s efforts to intensify the flow of humanitarian, relief, and medical aid during the upcoming phase given the catastrophic humanitarian conditions inside the Gaza Strip.

Minister Abdel-Aati also reviewed Egypt’s preparations to host the International Conference on Early Recovery and Reconstruction in cooperation with international partners, expressing anticipation for the active participation of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs during the conference.

For his part, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs praised Egypt’s diligent efforts and tangible contributions to achieving stability in the region, appreciating Egypt’s role in facilitating negotiations and reaching an agreement to end the war in the Gaza Strip, as well as enabling the entry of humanitarian, relief, and medical aid into Gaza in the required quantities, confirming the office’s intention to actively participate in the International Conference on Early Recovery and Reconstruction.