Visit to Egypt by the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs (21 October 2023)

After traveling to Cairo on October 16 as part of a regional tour, the Minister Catherine Colonna will return to Egypt on October 21 to take part in the Cairo Peace Summit hosted by the Egyptian president.

The Minister will reaffirm our absolute condemnation of Hamas’s terrorist attacks on October 7 that killed 1,400 people, including 30 French nationals. She will reiterate our demand for the release of all hostages being held in Gaza.

The Minister will stress the urgent need to work together to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which will require a humanitarian truce. She will express France’s desire to avoid a regional escalation and will stress the need for a political horizon that can only take shape on the basis of a two-state solution, one for Israelis and one for Palestinians. France is mobilizing its efforts and has announced an additional €10 million in humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza. We are working on additional contributions in conjunction with the World Food Programme (WFP).