Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Egypt on Monday to participate in the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit and attend the signing ceremony of a peace agreement aimed at ending the serious situation in Gaza.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the prime minister will attend the summit at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Donald Trump. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, along with other senior cabinet members will accompany the Prime Minister during the visit.
The Sharm el-Sheikh summit was the result of diplomatic efforts launched on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month.
Learn more: Ceasefire is respected in Gaza before the exchange of hostages and Trump’s visit to Israel
Earlier, on September 23, Prime Minister Shehbaz joined leaders of seven Arab-Islamic countries – Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Turkey – in a summit meeting with the US president to explore ways to achieve peace in Gaza.
In a joint statement, participating Arab-Islamic nations welcomed President Trump’s efforts to restore peace and reaffirmed their commitment to working with the United States to secure a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire while addressing the grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Prime Minister’s participation reflects Pakistan’s historic and unwavering support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and lasting peace and stability in the region.
Pakistan hopes that the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit will pave the way for a complete Israeli withdrawal, the protection of Palestinian civilians, an end to their displacement, the release of prisoners and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Islamabad also hopes that the ongoing peace efforts will help launch a credible political process leading to an independent, viable and contiguous State of Palestine, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, based on the pre-1967 borders, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
Read: Gazans return home as ceasefire between Israel and Hamas holds
US President Donald Trump and other world leaders are preparing to gather in Egypt for a major peace summit.
Trump will first pass through Israel, address Parliament and meet families of hostages on Monday before traveling to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt for the summit, where a “document ending the war in the Gaza Strip” is expected to be signed, according to the Foreign Ministry in Cairo.
Israelis were looking forward to Monday, when Hamas is expected to release its remaining 48 hostages, both living and dead. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel was “prepared and ready for the immediate reception of all our hostages.”
Hamas will release the captives, 20 of whom Israel says are still alive, in exchange for nearly 2,000 prisoners held in Israeli jails. “According to the signed agreement, the exchange of prisoners should begin Monday morning,” Hamas official Osama Hamdan told AFP in an interview.
Learn more: Hamas warns that difficult negotiations lie ahead
After Trump’s visit to Israel on Monday, he and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will chair a summit of leaders from more than 20 countries in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian presidency announced.
“The meeting will focus on ending the war in the Gaza Strip, strengthening efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East and ushering in a new era of regional security,” the statement said. Hamas and Israel should not participate. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he would attend.
