Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry called on Tuesday for the activation of the Arab comprehensive approach to countering terrorism and extremism. Shoukry made the remarks during his speech at the 152nd ministerial meeting of the Arab League Council, which tackled a number of Arab issues and how to address current challenges in the region. On the Palestine issue, the Egyptian foreign minister reasserted Egypt's support for founding a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with international law, the two-state solution and the 2002 Arab peace initiative. Shoukry highlighted the recent positive developments in Sudan and stressed Egypt's support for the Sudanese government during this transitional period, foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said. Egypt's top diplomat also stressed the importance of reaching a political settlement in Libya, unifying its state institutions, and freeing the country from the grip of militias. Shoukry also said that the current deadlock in Syria needs to be resolved through the activation of a constitutional committee in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution No. 2254. With regards to the Yemeni crisis, Shoukry underlined the necessity of applying the outcome of the national dialogue conference, the GCC initiative and UN Security Council resolutions. Shoukry said that reaching a political settlement in the Syrian crisis could pave the way for further dialogue regarding Damascus' return to the Arab League. Shoukry added that this topic was not widely addressed during the meeting of Arab foreign ministers held on Tuesday. Egypt's top diplomat told reporters that they discussed issues related to the League's administrative and financial reform. He went on to say that the gathering tackled other issues, notably the Palestinian cause and the Syrian, Yemeni and Libyan crises, as well as how to eradicate terrorism in the Arab region and globally. Source: MENA
