Sejourne affirmed France’s commitment to coordinating efforts with Egypt toward a permanent ceasefire and the exchange of detainees and hostages CAIRO: Egypt and France have reiterated their rejection of any measures or policies that aim to displace the Palestinians from their lands. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stephane Sejourne on Sunday. The meeting was also attended by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Ahmed Fahmy, presidential spokesman, said that the meeting tackled bilateral relations, and Sejourne conveyed France’s President Emmanuel Macron’s greetings to El-Sisi. The meeting also focused on the situation in the Gaza Strip. It reviewed Egypt’s efforts with the various actors to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and provide access to aid and relief to end the humanitarian catastrophe the people of Gaza have been enduring. The talks also emphasized the necessity for the international community to assume its responsibility with the implementation of the relevant international resolutions. Sejourne affirmed France’s commitment to coordinating efforts with Egypt toward a permanent ceasefire and the exchange of detainees and hostages, and the importance of preventing an expansion of the conflict. The two countries also agreed on the need to reinvigorate the two-state solution as a basis for the comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue and the restoration of security and stability in the Middle East. Fahmy said that “Egypt and France also reiterated their categorical and unequivocal rejection of any measures or policies that aim to displace the Palestinians from their lands.” The two sides also underscored the pivotal and irreplaceable role of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in providing aid to the people of the Gaza Strip, given the humanitarian catastrophe they have been experiencing, which requires the support of all intentional relief mechanisms. The talks also touched on other relevant political dossiers, primarily the situation in Sudan, Libya and the Red Sea. Shoukry warned of the danger of the conflict expanding in the region unless a ceasefire is reached in Gaza. He stressed the importance of a ceasefire so that conditions existed to launch a political framework that dealt with the Palestinian issue in all its aspects. Shoukry said that a time frame must be set for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, and the Palestinian issue must be dealt with through a comprehensive political framework. Sejourne said that France was working to reach a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible and to support the Palestinian Authority, stressing that Paris was also working toward the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Sejourne described the situation in the Gaza Strip as “tragic,” noting that Palestinians and Israelis have the right to live side by side and that the Palestinian state must include the West Bank and Gaza on the 1967 borders. He said: “We are working with Egypt to establish a sovereign and viable Palestinian state.” Sejourne added that the challenges were enormous, but France was committed to the depth of the partnership between the two countries.