French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Egypt next Tuesday, during a visit to the country.
He will then proceed to the city of Al-Arish, 50 kilometers from the Gaza Strip, to meet with humanitarian and security actors, emphasizing the importance of a “ceasefire,” according to an announcement from the Élysée Palace on Thursday.
The French presidency explained that Macron will meet at the port of Al-Arish, a rear base for collecting aid to be delivered to Gaza through the Rafah crossing, with staff members of French and international non-governmental organizations and the Egyptian Red Crescent, and he is also likely to meet with Palestinians.
Macron will also meet, according to the Élysée Palace, with French security personnel working within the European Union border monitoring mission, which is supposed to be deployed in Rafah.
The French president is expected to arrive in Cairo on Sunday evening, where he will hold a meeting with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi the following morning, before this bilateral meeting expands to include a number of ministers.
Macron will be accompanied on his visit to Egypt by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, Economy Éric Lombard, Health Catherine Vautrin, Research Philippe Baptiste, and Transport Philippe Tabarot.
The visit will include the signing of several economic agreements in the fields of transport, health, and renewable energy, as well as agreements between universities from both countries.
The French president will also have a private visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum before its scheduled opening in July.
On Tuesday, Macron will visit the city of Al-Arish, located in the northern Sinai Peninsula on the Mediterranean Sea, “to focus on food issues in the Gaza Strip,” according to a source at the Élysée.
