Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry affirmed on Tuesday the importance of achieving a "comprehensive and just" solution to the Palestinian issue "by supporting all endeavours aiming to revive the peace process", Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said in a statement. The foreign minister's remarks came during his video conference meeting with the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), a 15-member committee that serves as the principal policy-level coordination mechanism for development assistance to the occupied Palestinian territory. Shoukry warned during the meeting of any unilateral measures that undermine the chances of achieving the desired peaceful settlement within the framework of the two-state solution, including any step to annex lands in the West Bank. The Egyptian minister moreover stressed the need to maintain the Palestinian Authority's stability and supporting its financial position in facing of the existing challenges especially in dealing with the economic and social repercussions of coronavirus pandemic, Hafez added. "Egypt is committed to supporting AHLC activities since its establishment in order to alleviate the effects of difficult economic conditions inside the Palestinian territories," Shoukry said, reviewing Egypt's continuing efforts to back the Palestinian people and United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The AHLC was established in November 1993 by the Multilateral Steering Group of the multilateral talks on Middle East peace in the context of the Washington Conference that followed the signing of the Declaration of Principles in Oslo by Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in the same year. It is chaired by Norway and co-sponsored by the EU and the US, and seeks to promote dialogue between donors, the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel.
