Egypt steps up efforts to 'restore Syria's position in the Arab world'
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met his Syrian counterpart during the UN General Assembly meetings in New York last week, the first such meeting since the outbreak of the Syrian war.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, on Sept. 24, for the first time in nearly 10 years.
The meeting took place at the headquarters of the Permanent Mission of Egypt at the United Nations in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting, as part of a broader move by Arab countries to reintegrate Syria into the Arab world after ties had been cut since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.
Shoukry told ON TV Sept. 25 that he discussed with the Syrian minister the steps needed for Syria to get out of its crisis and regain its position as an active party in the Arab world.
Egypt appears to be seeking to play an active role in ending the Syrian crisis. “Now that the military battles [in Syria] have tapered off, we must have a role in reinstating communication, to explore the necessary steps that will lead to preserving the Syrian people’s capabilities and getting out of the crisis to restore Syria’s position in the Arab world,” Shoukry continued.
