News
Israel Foreign Ministry chief visits Cairo for first time since 2011
Dore Gold yesterday became the first Director General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry to visit Egypt’s capital Cairo since 2011, underscoring recent warm ties between the two countries.
Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979 and formalised diplomatic relations a year later. The peace agreement has held firm since then, although relations have at times been little more than cordial. However, since President al-Sisi came to power in 2013, relations between Israel and Egypt have warmed, with significant cooperation over the common threat of Islamist terror in the Sinai Peninsula and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel and Egypt are thought to have worked closely together during last summer to bring an end to Operation Protective Edge. Both countries are also concerned over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Gold was only recently appointed to head Israel’s Foreign Ministry, but his visit to Cairo yesterday was described by Egypt’s Foreign Ministry as the highest ranking visit from an Israeli counterpart “in years.” According to Egypt’s state news agency MENA, Gold met with various officials including Deputy Foreign Minister Osama Almajdoub. In a statement, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said “the Palestinian issue was raised in the meeting, as Cairo is a main player and sponsor of this issue.” Almajdoub apparently emphasised that the issue is “the heart of the conflict in the region, it is the Arabs’ central problem, and its solution is a basic condition to reaching stability in the region.”
Yesterday’s meetings in Cairo come just a week after Egypt appointed its first ambassador to Israel since 2012. Hazem Khairat will soon take up his post, having previously served as Egypt’s representative at the Arab League and ambassador to Syria and Chile.
Gold is considered close to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has on several occasions during the last year emphasised the possibility of regional cooperation, given the recent shifts in the Middle East. Last week, Gold met with Turkish representatives to discuss possible reconciliation between the two countries.