After the parenthesis about his private life, which – against his will – became public knowledge, Giorgia Meloni came to Cairo for the Middle East peace summit. The “Egyptian Peace Forum,” taking place in the city’s new administrative capital, will focus on “developments and the future of the Palestinian cause and the peace process.” War between Israel and Hamas.
The Prime Minister was welcomed at the airport by Italian Ambassador to Egypt Michele Quaroni and Egyptian Trade Minister Hazem al-Beblawi. With tanks massed on the Gaza border and Israeli army units ready for the land invasion, Meloni decided to be present in person “to reaffirm Italy’s role as an important interlocutor in the Mediterranean,” believing that opportunities can always arise a crisis.
In the opening session of the summit, the Prime Minister gave a speech in which she recalled the determination of all world leaders to prevent an escalation with global implications and to work together again to get there “Two Peoples and Two States” project..
It was important for Italy to take part “because of the opportunities that this summit offers, even if the starting positions may seem distant. Because even if our viewpoints don’t overlap perfectly, our interests do overlap perfectly.” The common interest is that what is happening in Gaza does not become a larger conflictwill not become a war of religions, a clash of civilizations that would render the courageous efforts of recent years in vain.”
“From the way the attack took place, I get the impression that Hamas’ goal was to “force Israel into a response against Gaza that would create an unbridgeable gap between Arab countries, Israel and the West would endanger peace.” “All citizens involved, including those who supposedly want to defend it,” Prime Minister Meloni continued at the summit.
“The goal – he added – it’s all of us, And It would be very, very stupid to fall into this trap. I believe it is very important to continue dialogue and reason. Terrorist attacks have weakened people’s legitimate demands, particularly in the Muslim world. Hamas’ decision to use terrorism to prevent any dialogue fits into this dynamic.”
“We are very concerned about the fate of the hostages, there are also Italians there, we demand the immediate release of the hostages,” said the Prime Minister in Cairo. No reason “justifies terrorism, actions that target defenseless civilians, no reason justifies the massacre of women and newborn babies being beheaded and brutally caught on camera,” he added.
Subsequently, at the summit, the Prime Minister reiterated the importance of the EU Commission’s decision to triple humanitarian aid to Gaza, bringing it to over 75 million euros, but stressed: “The increase in resources must be accompanied by very strict control over it, who uses them.” them”.
On the sidelines of the peace summit in Cairo, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni then had a bilateral meeting with Palestinian Authority leader Abu Mazen, which she then reported to the press.
“We must “work on real de-escalation, continue to work on a long-term solution, which can only be that of two states,” Meloni said. “There is previous work that needs to be revisited and expanded within a certain time frame. It requires a great commitment from the international community, which is not easy if we are not able to first provide answers that can start from the issue of humanitarian aid on the one hand for the Gaza Strip, on the other hand important work must be done for the hostages “which would be another important signal,” he noted.
The continuation of the summit
The summit will be divided into two working sessions, at the end of which a joint statement could be made: from Qatar to Turkey, from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates, to be represented by Mohammed bin Salman and Mohammed bin Zayed.
The protagonists include the leader of the Palestinian Authority Abu Mazen as well as representatives from around the world and the Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres. The United States is conspicuously absent. There were British Prime Minister Rushi Sunak, his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, King of Bahrain, and the Crown Prince of Kuwait , South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the foreign ministers of Japan, the United Kingdom and France, and representatives of Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates.
The summit is also expected to be attended by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell and European Council President Charles Michel. At the end of the summit Meloni is expected to travel to Tel Aviv to meet Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Herzog.
Giorgia Meloni at the peace summit in Cairo