Egypt honors families of Egyptian officers killed on UN duty

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Wed, 27 Jun 2018 - 01:54 GMT

BY

Wed, 27 Jun 2018 - 01:54 GMT

FILE: Ministry of Foreign Affairs honored families of the Egyptian military and police officers who took part in UN peace-keeping missions and lost their lives on duty

FILE: Ministry of Foreign Affairs honored families of the Egyptian military and police officers who took part in UN peace-keeping missions and lost their lives on duty

CAIRO – 27 June 2018: Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Defense honored families of the Egyptian military and police officers who took part in UN peace-keeping missions and lost their lives on duty.

This came during a celebration of the Peace Day by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in coordination with the United Nations Information Office and the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peace-keeping and Peace Building.

In a Wednesday press statement, Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pointed out that the Foreign Ministry’s celebration comes to reinstate Egypt’s keenness to continuously participate in the UN peacekeeping missions, based on Egypt’s full commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN that promote the maintenance of international peace and security.

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The ceremony included a photographic exhibition and the screening of two documentary films; one cranked up by the Armed Forces and the other by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations, chronicling Egyptian military contributions to peacekeeping missions and the sacrifices and heroism of the 30,000 Egyptian police and army officers partaking in such missions.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry delivered a keynote address during the ceremony, where he paid tribute to the martyrs of Egypt who sacrificed their lives in defense of peace under the banner of the United Nations. He hailed the courage and heroism of the Egyptian military elements participating in the peacekeeping missions, which also witness the participation of the Egyptian female police officers.

During his speech, the minister reiterated Egypt’s full commitment to work on upgrading the Egyptian military forces' performance and capabilities as well as increasing the female recruitment in the army.


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He further stressed the importance of the incessant work to improve the capabilities of the military personnel of the peacekeeping missions, amid the rising threats and challenges surrounding them and the reduction of the financial support to the missions.

Egypt has always maintained its position as one of the major contributors to peacekeeping operations since 1960 when first the Egyptian military envoy was dispatched to Congo.

The Congo operation was the first large-scale peacekeeping operation, with nearly 20,000 military personnel. A total of 250 UN personnel died in that operation, including then-Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold.

Since then, Egypt has participated in a total of 38 UN missions in 24 countries around the world; in Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America, and is currently the seventh largest troop contributor and one of the longest serving countries to the UN peacekeeping missions.

Egypt, third largest contributor to peacekeeping operations

CAIRO - 5 August 2017: Egypt ranked third in the United Nations peacekeeping operations' largest contributing countries for the current period, according to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). A total of 729 Egyptian officers and police personnel serve in U.N. peacekeeping operations in various countries, as announced by the Ministry of Interior Affairs.









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