Macron received by President Sisi during his visit to Cairo - file
CAIRO - 7 April 2025: Former Assistant Foreign Minister Ambassador Mohamed Hegazy, stressed that French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Egypt is of great importance to both countries, in statements he made commenting on the visit.
He said that the visit comes at a particularly dangerous and sensitive time, given the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, the fierce war against the people of the Gaza Strip, and its impact on the security and stability of the Middle East.
In a statement to the Middle East News Agency (MENA) on Monday, Ambassador Hegazy said that this visit represents a high-level diplomatic initiative in light of the tripartite summit bringing together the leaders of Egypt and Jordan with the French President to discuss the dangers threatening the Palestinian cause, most notably Israel's attempts to expel Palestinians from their land as part of a forced displacement plan. Hegazy also discussed the Egyptian-Arab plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
He also highlighted the bilateral dimension of the visit and the importance of the meeting between President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his French counterpart.
The two leaders will discuss the possibility of advancing the Gaza reconstruction plan—which France has welcomed—along with the international reconstruction conference that Egypt intends to hold this month in cooperation with the United Nations and regional and international partners. They will also discuss the governance and management of the Gaza Strip and security, in preparation for the international conference that France and Saudi Arabia will co-chair at the United Nations to discuss the two-state solution next June.
Ambassador Hegazy further stressed that there are several pressing issues for both countries. President El-Sisi and Macron's talks are expected to address the situations in Libya, Sudan, Lebanon, and Syria, in addition to cooperation on terrorism and illegal immigration.
He noted that the French President has a busy and intensive agenda in Egypt, which began with a visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum, as well as his important visit to Cairo University, where he will deliver an important speech, and participate in the Egyptian-French Universities Forum.
Hegazy emphasized the importance of President Macron's upcoming visit to the city of Arish and its port, near the Rafah crossing. This visit sends a clear message underscoring the importance of working to deliver humanitarian aid to address the situation, which the French presidency has described as a humanitarian disaster, and to call for a ceasefire. He also noted that Macron will meet with members of the Egyptian Red Crescent and French forces operating within the European Union Border Monitoring Mission, which will be redeployed.
Ambassador Hegazy noted that the French president attaches great importance to the resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries to the people of Gaza. The French President will also call for a return to calm and stability, a ceasefire, and immediate action to release the hostages, Hegazy added.
Hegazy also explained that the two presidents will witness the signing of several agreements between the two countries in various fields, particularly transportation and health, as well as a new health memorandum of understanding aimed at assisting in the treatment of Palestinians evacuated from Gaza since the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023.
Ambassador Mohamed Hegazy highlighted the high-level delegation accompanying the French President in Egypt, considering this large delegation, which includes the ministers of foreign affairs, defense, economy, health, transportation, and scientific research, to be the most important in the history of relations between the two countries.
"It carries significance related to the strategic level reached by Egyptian-French relations and the desire to continue to advance them toward broader horizons," Ambassador Hegazy said, adding that an agreement will be announced to launch an enhanced strategic partnership between the two countries in various fields.
Ambassador Mohamed Hegazy concluded his remarks by saying that Egypt, along with its regional and international partners, led by France, "is playing a pivotal role in saving the region and restoring its security and stability by halting the Palestinian bloodshed, deterring Israel from genocidalizing and oppressing the Palestinian people, thwarting its displacement plan to liquidate the Palestinian cause, and launching a process that leads to reconstruction and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, a path on which both Egypt and France agree."
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