Arab Republic of Egypt and Norway Joint Statement

Cairo  - Oslo - fagala post-en | Fady Labib : We, the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Prime Minister of Norway, met in the city of Oslo, Norway, on December 9...

Egypt and Norway have enjoyed close bilateral cooperation since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1936. Today, we reaffirmed our commitment to further developing the friendly relations between the two countries.

We agreed to hold regular political consultations on issues of common interest with the aim of strengthening our partnership and integrating efforts to achieve our common interests of stability, peace and prosperity.

We reaffirmed our common principles in accordance with the United Nations Charter on respect for international law, including international humanitarian law, human rights law, territorial integrity, and national sovereignty.

We stressed our deep concern about the situation in the Middle East, including the enormous suffering of civilians and dire humanitarian needs. We agreed that all parties must break the cycle of violence and take immediate and substantive measures to address this situation.

We condemned all violations of international humanitarian law and agreed on the urgent need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and captives in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2735. Norway, for its part, has condemned the terrorist attack launched by Hamas on 7 October 2023 and calls for the immediate release the hostages.

 

We confirmed that all parties are obliged to protect civilians, and we stressed Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law to allow and facilitate safe access to humanitarian aid by all means in all areas of the Gaza Strip. These were also the main messages during the Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance Humanitarian Response in Gaza held on 2 December 2024. We rejected all forms of forced displacement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. We also expressed our concern about the current escalation, increased settler violence and military incursions in the West Bank. We welcomed the declaration of a ceasefire in Lebanon and urged both parties to implement it.

We also discussed our deep concern with regard to the systematic obstruction imposed by Israel on The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and other aid organizations. This includes the recent legislation passed by the Knesset, which, if enacted, would effectively prevent UNRWA from continuing its operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza. Such a move would have dire consequences for hundreds of thousands of civilians and would be in violation of Israel’s obligations as stipulated under international law.

We underscored our joint efforts in support of UNRWA’s indispensable role and backed a draft resolution to the United Nations General Assembly requesting the International Court of Justice to provide an advisory opinion on this matter.

We discussed a multitude of challenges facing the Palestinian Authority and reaffirmed our position in support of the Palestinian government’s efforts, led by Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, to address these challenges.

We emphasized the necessity of unifying Gaza and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority, with the aim of strengthening the Palestinian state and establishing it on the basis of the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions. We agreed that Israel needs to make fundamental changes to its policies and practices to enable the Palestinian Authority to function and provide services to its people. We stressed the need to continue coordinating these issues within the framework of the Aid Coordination Committee for the Palestinian People.

We agreed that ending the occupation of the Palestinian territories in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and implementing the two-state solution, where Israelis and Palestinians live side by side in peace and security, is imperative for regional stability. We also discussed how we and others should coordinate future initiatives, including within the “Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution”. We share the view that a political solution, based on international law, is the key to coexistence, cooperation, and peace in the Middle East.

 

Abdel Fattah El-Sisi,

President of the Arab Republic of Egypt

 

Jonas Gahr Støre,

Prime Minister of Norway