Egypt, Turkiye Call For Immediate Ceasefire In Gaza

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) CAIRO, Feb 14 (KUNA) -- Egypt's President Abdelfattah Al-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayipp Erdogan underscored Wednesday the need for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
"President Erdogan and I also agreed on the need for de-escalation in the West bank to resume the peace process as soon as possible to establish an independent Palestinian state on June 4 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," Al-Sisi said a joint news conference with Erdogan following their summit in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
He expressed his satisfaction with the current level of cooperation between Egypt and Turkiye to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, blaming the Israeli authorities for the delay in the aid delivery into the Strip.
On Libya, Al-Sisi said they concurred on boosting consultation to help Libyans hold their legislative and presidential polls, and unify their military institution.
He affirmed that achieving successful political and security stability in Libya would be an example for fruitful cooperation between the countries.
The Egyptian leader welcomed the current lull in the East Mediterranean Sea region, saying he looks forward to building on it to settle current disputes among the region's countries to make the best use of the available natural resources.
Al-Sisi went to say that Egypt and Turkiye face common challenges like "terrorism, and social and economic challenges" imposed by unrest in the region.
He expressed pride for historical ties with Turkiye, referring to growth in commercial relations between the two sides.
He noted that they agreed on raising the value of trade exchange between the two sides to USD 15 billion in the next years, stressing that Egypt is Turkiye's top commercial partner in Africa.
Meanwhile, Turkish President described the situation in the Gaza Strip as a "humanitarian disaster", saying that the Israeli attacks resulted in the martyrdom of 28,000 Palestinians and the wounding of about 70,000 others.
He deplored the Israeli occupation forces' targeting of mosques, churches, schools, hospitals and UN buildings, accusing Benjamin Netanyahu's government of continuing killing and committing massacres despite international reactions.
He prioritized delivering aid to Gaza, stating that Turkiye sent over 31,000 tons of humanitarian assistance, referring to Egyptian efforts made for this purpose.
He indicated that 700 injured Gazans have been taken to Turkiey to receive treatment and Turkiye also is planning to establish a field hospital in Gaza with the help of Egypt.
Erdogan commended Egypt's stance rejecting the displacement of Gazans from their land, calling on Israeli prime minister to halt massacres committed against Gaza's residents.
He affirmed continuing cooperation with Egypt to stop the bloodshed in Gaza, referring that Turkiye is ready for collaboration with Egypt on rebuilding Gaza.
He elaborated that he discussed Sudanese, Libyan and Somali files with Al-Sisi, emphasizing his keenness on the unity of the three countries, and their stability and security.
On ties with Egypt, Erdogan said that their country shares a common history of over 1000 years, hoping to upgrade bilateral relations between the two countries.
Erdogan said he discussed with the Egyptian leader additional measures to increase economic and commercial cooperation, in addition to enhancing ties in military and defensive industries based on energy between the two countries.
On the sidelines of the summit, the two leaders signed an agreement on re-forming the Egyptian-Turkish strategic cooperation council. (pickup previous)
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