Visit to Egypt by the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs (October 21, 2023)

After traveling to Cairo on October 16 as part of a regional tour, the Minister will return to Egypt on October 21 to take part in the Cairo Peace Summit hosted by the Egyptian president.

The minister will reaffirm our absolute condemnation of Hamas’s terrorist attacks on October 7 that killed 1,400 people, including 30 French nationals. She will reiterate our demand for the release of all hostages being held in Gaza.

The Minister will stress the urgent need to work together to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which will require a humanitarian truce. She will express France’s desire to avoid a regional escalation and will stress the need for a political horizon that can only take shape on the basis of a two-state solution, one for Israelis and one for Palestinians. France is mobilizing its efforts and has announced an additional €10 million in humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza. We are working on additional contributions in conjunction with the World Food Programme (WFP).

Afghanistan – Release of our compatriot Mortaza Behboudi (October 20, 2023)

France welcomes the release of our compatriot Mortaza Behboudi, who had been detained in Afghanistan since January 7. The Taliban held him in custody for 284 days because he works as a reporter.

From day one of his imprisonment, France monitored Mortaza Behboudi’s situation very closely. Through our delegation in Doha, the French authorities continuously lobbied the Taliban to release him. Working with our partners in Kabul, including the EU and the UN, which have delegations in Afghanistan, France made repeated efforts to gain the release of our fellow citizen.

Our compatriot’s release is an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to press freedom and unhampered reporting worldwide.

Q&A

Ukraine announced that it has begun negotiating a bilateral agreement on security guarantees with France. Can you confirm this?

Yes, France and Ukraine began talks yesterday with a view to signing a bilateral agreement on security arrangements. That agreement would expand the commitments taken under the G7 joint declaration adopted on July 12. The two parties will continue their discussions over the coming weeks with the aim of establishing concrete terms whereby France will provide ambitious support to Ukraine in every area over an extended period of time as Ukraine deals with the Russian aggression.