Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Egypt and Saudi Arabia have reaffirmed the importance of implementing the second phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, emphasizing that progress on this stage is essential to pave the way for reconstruction efforts and to revive a comprehensive political settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The position was underscored during a meeting on Friday between Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates, Badr Abdelatty, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan. The talks took place on the sidelines of an expanded dialogue session held in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, according to a joint press statement.
During the meeting, both ministers highlighted the depth of the longstanding and close fraternal relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. They expressed a shared commitment to continuing close coordination and joint action to strengthen bilateral ties across various fields, in line with the aspirations and interests of both peoples.
On regional developments, the two sides discussed the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East and stressed the urgent need to implement the commitments outlined in the second phase of the Gaza plan. Egyptian and Saudi officials said that moving forward with this phase would help stabilize the situation in Gaza, facilitate the launch of large-scale reconstruction efforts, and reopen the path toward a broader and more sustainable political process.
The ministers also emphasized the necessity of reducing regional tensions, calling for intensified regional and international efforts to contain escalation and prevent further deterioration of security conditions. They agreed that coordination among key regional actors remains crucial to addressing ongoing crises and avoiding wider conflict.
The meeting reflects Cairo and Riyadh’s broader diplomatic alignment on regional issues, particularly their shared focus on de-escalation, humanitarian recovery in Gaza, and the revival of political solutions to long-standing conflicts. As fighting and humanitarian challenges persist in the Palestinian territory, both countries continue to position themselves as central actors in regional mediation and post-conflict reconstruction efforts.
