President Abdel Fattah El Sisi held on Saturday a plenary session with permanent delegates and charge d'affairs of more than 50 United Nations member states.

The Egyptian Foreign Minister attended the meeting, Presidential Spokesman Alaa Youssef said.

Sisi welcomed the UN officials who are currently visiting Egypt within the framework of an international forum on means of confronting challenges and threats facing the international community, topped by the issues of international peace, security and development.

Sisi underlined Egypt's commitment to cooperating with all international players and serving the United Nations' goals for realizing stability and pushing forward the wheel of development and democracy.

Sisi noted that the talks tackled means of promoting the role of small and medium Mediterranean states in decision-making process.

Sisi called for making use of the 70th anniversary of establishing the United Nations to rally efforts for expediting the march of development, especially in African states.

Sisi noted that Egypt is forging a new development plan in view of the UN development activities.

Egypt is committed to backing the UN efforts to peacefully settle disputes, especially in the Middle East and Africa, Sisi said.

Sisi noted that Egypt was a pioneering state in supporting peace-keeping operations.

Egypt has participated in 37 peacekeeping missions in 24 states

Meanwhile, Sisi underlined Egypt's support for combating terror which poses a threat to regional and international peace in line with the UN Charter and the international law.

As for the issue of empowering women, he said Egypt is taking steps to empower women who play a key role in society.

The Palestinian delegate to the UN conveyed Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' appreciation to Egypt's vial role in realizing security and stability in the region.

Sisi underlined the importance of reaching a just settlement to the Palestinian cause.

Sisi called for international guarantees for the issues which concern the Palestinian and Israeli sides under a balanced and serious vision that allows the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Source: MENA