"Minister Shoukry and I agree that negotiations between Israel and Hamas must resume as soon as possible. I regret that the talks have stalled, because only through dialogue can peace be restored in the Middle East," said Minister Fajon, reiterating the need for immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. "It is unacceptable that the aid collected is waiting in trucks on the Egyptian side near Rafah or in a logistics centre, while people on the other side of the border do not have the basic necessities of life. She thanked Minister Shoukry for Egypt’s contribution in collecting, organising and distributing aid for the Palestinians. She also underlined the indispensable role of international organisations, in particular UNRWA. Slovenia supports its vital role and calls on all parties to support the Agency so that it can continue its important work, and to respect its neutrality and humanitarianism," said Minister Fajon at a press conference following her meeting with Minister Shoukry.

The two ministers agreed on the urgent need to find a solution for peace in the Middle East, which in their view can only be achieved through a two-state solution, with the ultimate goal of peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. The Minister strongly condemned the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, stressing: "This is a violation of basic norms of humanity, international law, international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Israel must stop its deliberate displacement of Palestinians."

The two ministers focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation, including economic cooperation. Egypt is Slovenia's most important partner in this part of the world. They stressed the importance of additional investments and increased cooperation in the fields of information technology and AI, aviation industry, agriculture, tourism, the timber industry, green hydrogen, renewable energy and water. "I am very pleased about the upcoming opening of the greenhouse in Nubaria, which will be made possible by the Slovenian company DUOL in cooperation with several other companies and Italy. The project will become a centre of excellence for the Egyptian food processing industry and will provide services to Egyptian producers for the entire tomato value chain," said Minister Fajon.

The two ministers also agreed to reconvene the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation in the near future, given the strong interest on both sides to strengthen cooperation.

In Cairo, Minister Fajon also visited the project "Recycling of Nile plastics by craftswomen on the island of Qursaya", which Slovenia is co-financing from the Foreign Ministry's development fund. The project aims to use plastic waste collected by local fishermen to preserve and create new employment opportunities for the island's local population, with a focus on women. VeryNile is one of the initiatives of the social start-up enterprise Barissa. Given the problem of waste pollution in Cairo and the lack of awareness among the population on how to be more environmentally responsible, this project is important for both practical education and training.

"During her visit to the island and meetings with environmental NGOs, Minister Fajon stressed that "gender equality and environmental protection are priorities for Slovenian development cooperation. The VeryNile Shop, with its activities, is therefore our natural partner and I hope that together we will work to take more decisive steps in raising environmental awareness."