
Egypt steps up diplomatic push to cement Iran-Israel ceasefire - Foreign Affairs
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East Steve Wietkoff, and Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
The discussions focused on the urgent need for coordinated regional and international efforts to solidify the Iran-Israel ceasefire and resume diplomatic negotiations toward a sustainable resolution of the Iranian nuclear file. The aim is to address regional concerns peacefully and achieve lasting de-escalation and reduced tensions.
Officials praised Egypt's diplomatic efforts to ease regional tensions and its role in bridging gaps between conflicting parties. They underscored Egypt's ability to foster mutual understanding and build common ground that serves the interests of all sides during this critical period, reinforcing regional security and stability.
In a separate call, Abdelatty and Wietkoff discussed developments related to ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, the release of hostages and detainees, and the urgent need for full humanitarian access to the besieged enclave. They also reviewed preparations for indirect talks between the parties aimed at a comprehensive agreement.
Abdelatty also highlighted Egypt's ongoing preparations to host an international conference on early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza, to be convened immediately after a ceasefire agreement is reached. Wietkoff commended Egypt's continuous efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and its constructive role in promoting regional peace and stability.
Follow us on:
Short link:
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


See - Sada Elbalad
an hour ago
- See - Sada Elbalad
Trump Criticizes Immigration Policies
Ahmed Emam U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that the United States risks becoming a 'bankrupt third-world country' if current immigration policies continue. Speaking about a proposed tax bill, Trump said the legislation would allocate additional funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), underscoring what he described as the urgent need to secure America's borders and enforce immigration laws. 'We will not allow America to become a Third World country,' Trump declared, accusing the current administration of endangering national security and economic stability through its handling of immigration. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence" Videos & Features Video: Trending Lifestyle TikToker Valeria Márquez Shot Dead during Live Stream Technology 50-Year Soviet Spacecraft 'Kosmos 482' Crashes into Indian Ocean


See - Sada Elbalad
2 hours ago
- See - Sada Elbalad
China Highlights Preparations for Premier Li Qiang's Visit to Egypt
By Ahmad El-Assasy China has outlined the key arrangements for the upcoming official visit of Chinese Premier Li Qiang to Egypt on July 9 and 10, following an invitation from Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. During a press conference on July 3, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning confirmed the visit and emphasized the historical significance of China-Egypt ties. Egypt was the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. The two nations maintain a comprehensive strategic partnership. In recent years, under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, China-Egypt relations have flourished. Political mutual trust continues to deepen, and practical cooperation across various sectors has achieved significant progress. Both sides also coordinate closely in multilateral forums. During the visit, Premier Li Qiang is expected to hold in-depth discussions with Egyptian leaders on ways to advance bilateral relations, enhance mutually beneficial cooperation, and address regional and international issues of shared concern. China hopes this visit will further strengthen the historic friendship with Egypt, deepen practical collaboration, and promote continuous progress toward building a shared future between China and Egypt. Beijing also aims to boost efforts toward establishing a higher-level China-Arab community with a shared future. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence" Videos & Features Video: Trending Lifestyle TikToker Valeria Márquez Shot Dead during Live Stream Technology 50-Year Soviet Spacecraft 'Kosmos 482' Crashes into Indian Ocean


Egypt Independent
2 hours ago
- Egypt Independent
For the first time, Xi is missing a China-backed BRICS summit. Why?
Hong Kong CNN — A summit of leaders from the BRICS group of major emerging economies kicks off in Brazil Sunday – but without the top leader of its most powerful member. For the first time in more than one decade of rule, Chinese leader Xi Jinping – who has made BRICS a centerpiece of his push to reshape the global balance of power – will not attend the annual leaders' gathering. Xi's absence from the two-day summit in Rio de Janeiro comes at a critical moment for BRICS, which owes its acronym to early members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and since 2024 has expanded to include Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Iran. Some members are up against a July 9 deadline to negotiate US tariffs set to be imposed by US President Donald Trump, and all face the global economic uncertainty brought on by his upending of American trade relations – putting the club under more pressure show solidarity. Xi's absence means the Chinese leader is missing a key opportunity to showcase China as a stable alternative leader to the US. That's an image Beijing has long looked to project to the Global South, and one recently elevated by Trump's shift to an 'America First' policy and the US decision last month to join Israel in bombing Iranian nuclear facilities. But the Chinese leader's decision not to attend – sending his No. 2 official Li Qiang instead – doesn't mean Beijing has downgraded the significance it places on BRICS, observers say, or that it's less important to Beijing's bid to build out groups to counterbalance Western power. China's Premier Li Qiang waves during a visit to Jakarta, Indonesia, in May. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images/File '(BRICS) is part and parcel of Beijing's effort to make sure it isn't hemmed in by the US allies,' said Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore. But that pressure may have lessened with Trump in office, Chong added, referencing the US president's shake-up of relations even with key partners, and for Xi, BRICS may just not be 'his greatest priority' as he focuses on steering China's domestic economy. Beijing may also have low expectations for major breakthroughs at this year's summit, he said. BRICS attendance sheet Xi is not the only head of state expected to be absent in Rio. The Chinese leader's closest ally in the group, Russia's Vladimir Putin, will only attend via video link, for the same reason he also joined a 2023 BRICS gathering in South Africa remotely. Brazil, like South Africa, is a signatory to the International Criminal Court and so would be obligated to arrest Putin on a court charge alleging war crimes in Ukraine. The absence of two global heavy hitters leaves ample limelight for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will visit Brazil both for the summit and a state visit. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is also expected to attend. Some new club members have yet to announce their plans, though Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto is expected in Rio after Southeast Asia's largest economy officially joined BRICS earlier this year. BRICS partner countries, including some who aspire to join the group, will also send delegations. Uncertainty remains over whether Saudi Arabia has accepted an invitation to become a full member. The sting of Xi's absence for Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva may be blunted by the fact that the Chinese leader visited Brazil in November for the G20 summit and a state visit, when he and Lula inked a raft of cooperation agreements. The Brazilian leader also visited China in May, after attending a military parade in Moscow alongside Xi. That recent diplomacy, low expectations for major breakthroughs at this year's summit, and a heightened focus on domestic issues all likely factored into Xi's decision to send Li, a trusted second-in-command, observers say. China is facing steep economic challenges in the face of trade frictions with the US – and its leaders are busy charting a course for the five years ahead of a key political conclave expected this year. In Rio, Li will likely be charged with advancing priorities like shoring up energy ties between Beijing and BRICS' major oil-exporting members, while pushing for the expanded use of China's offshore and digital currency for trade within the group, according to Brian Wong, an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong, who added that Xi's absence shouldn't be interpreted as a snub to BRICS. 'Whether it be the Sino-Russian partnership or Beijing's desire to project its purported leadership of the Global South, there is much in BRICS+ that resonates with Xi's foreign policy worldview,' said Wong, using a term for the extended group. De-dollarization? Launched in 2009 as an economic coalition of Brazil, Russia, India and China before South Africa joined a year later, BRICS roughly positions itself as the Global South's answer to the Group of Seven (G7) major developed economies. It's taken on greater significance as countries have increasingly pushed for a 'multipolar world' where power is more distributed – and as Beijing and Moscow have looked to bolster their international clout alongside deepening tensions with the West. But BRICS' composition – a mix of countries with vastly different political and economic systems, and with occasional friction between each other – and its recent expansion have also drawn criticism as leaving the group too unwieldy to be effective. Officials, including Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, attend the at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024. Maxim Shemetov/Pool/AFP/Getty Images/File The disparate group's efforts to speak with one voice distinct from that of the West often become mired in opposing views. A statement last month expressed 'grave concern' over the military strikes against BRICS member Iran, but stopped short of specifically naming the US or Israel, the two countries that carried out the strikes. Nonetheless, the US will be watching how the countries talk about one issue that has typically united them: moving their trade and finance to national currencies – and away from the dollar. Such de-dollarization is particularly attractive to member countries such as Russia and Iran, which are heavily sanctioned by the US. Earlier this year, among the goals of Brazil's host term, Lula included 'increasing payment options' to reduce 'vulnerabilities and costs.' Russia last year pushed for the development of a unique cross-border payments system, when it hosted the club. What's unlikely to be on the negotiating table, however, is the lofty goal of a 'BRICS currency' – an idea suggested by Lula in 2023 that has drawn ire from Trump even as other BRICS leaders have not signaled it's a group priority. The US president in January threatened to place '100% tariffs' on 'seemingly hostile' BRICS countries if they supported a BRICS currency, or backed another currency to replace 'the mighty U.S. Dollar.' As countries convene in Rio, observers will be tracking how strident their leaders are in promoting the use of national currencies at a meeting of a group where China is the leading member, but US global economic clout still looms large.