Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
On Saturday, March 14, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held a phone call with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, to review rapidly evolving regional developments and explore measures to reduce military escalation.
According to a statement from Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Tamim Khallaf, the ministers discussed the dangerous expansion of hostilities in the region and exchanged ideas on how to contain the conflict. Both officials emphasized the importance of coordinated diplomatic efforts to prevent a broader regional war, noting the severe economic, security, and geostrategic consequences that continued escalation could have on the Middle East and globally.
The discussion also focused on developments in Lebanon. Minister Abdelatty reiterated Egypt’s full condemnation of Israeli attacks against Lebanese territory, stressing the need to immediately halt violations and asserting Egypt’s firm rejection of any infringement on Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The call further covered economic concerns. Abdelatty expressed Egypt’s hope for France’s support in expediting the second tranche of the European Union’s total support package to Egypt, aimed at mitigating the severe economic repercussions of the ongoing military escalation. He highlighted the impact of rising energy and food prices, higher shipping and maritime insurance costs, and the broader effects on Egypt’s economy.
Both ministers agreed to continue close coordination within the framework of Egypt-France strategic relations and to work jointly to reduce tensions across the region. They underscored that diplomacy remains the essential path to prevent further instability and the risk of escalation into a wider conflict.
