The president of the European Council, António Costa, will represent the European Union (EU) at the summit taking place on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to formalize the ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas.
A source from António Costa’s office indicated that the former Portuguese prime minister will represent the EU at the Peace Plan ceremony for the Middle East, after being invited to be present by the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, and the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.
“The plan offers a real opportunity to build a just and sustainable peace, and the EU is fully committed to supporting these efforts and contributing to their implementation”, said the same official source.
Around 20 world leaders are expected at this summit, including the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, and the French President, Emmanuel Macron.
According to the North American news portal Axios, the summit will be attended by senior leaders and foreign ministers from Germany, Italy, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Spain, Japan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Hungary, India, El Salvador, Cyprus, Greece, Bahrain, Kuwait, Canada and Iran.
The Egyptian presidency, led by Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, announced that this summit aims to “put an end to the war in the Gaza Strip, reinforce efforts to establish peace and stability in the Middle East and open a new page of security and stability in the region”.
A senior Hamas official told the France-Presse news agency (AFP) that the release of the 48 hostages, mostly Israelis, held in Gaza will begin on Monday morning. After the handover, Israel is expected to release around 2,000 Palestinian detainees from its prisons, in accordance with the terms of the first phase of a ceasefire agreement signed by the two parties and which was promoted by the United States.