The Ministerial Committee assigned by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit concerning developments in the Gaza Strip has convened with the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Jean-Noel Barrot, in Paris to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip and ongoing peace efforts.
The Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, headed the delegation of the Ministerial Committee, alongside the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, and the Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ayman Safadi, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Gaza War
On Friday, the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan met with their French counterpart at the headquarters of the French Foreign Ministry in Paris.
The meeting focused on discussing international efforts to end the war in Gaza and allow unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid into the Strip, according to the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee’s joint statement.
The ministers also discussed enhancing joint efforts to halt all Israeli violations against the Palestinian people and the occupied territories, which contravene international laws and norms, as well as international humanitarian law.
Advancing Two-State Solution
The meeting also discussed support for efforts aimed at advancing peace in the region and implementing the two-state solution in accordance with relevant international laws, in a manner that ensures security and prosperity for the region.
In the light of this, the meeting reviewed the ongoing preparations for the upcoming International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which Saudi Arabia will co-chair alongside France from June 17-20, 2025 at the UN headquarters in New York.
Recognizing Palestinian State
Saudi Arabia and France have called for the international conference to advance peace and implement the two-state solution, in a bid to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The announcement came during a visit by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, to Saudi Arabia in December 2024, when he said that that he and the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, would co-chair a conference in June 2025 focused on establishing a Palestinian state.
In April 2025, Macron noted that France plans to recognize Palestine in the June conference. “Our goal is to chair this conference with Saudi Arabia in June. We aim to finalize reciprocal recognition by several countries,” the French President said following his visit to Egypt.
Mobilizing International Community
The international conference for the two-state solution is a bid to “trigger a series of other recognitions,” according to Macron. It aims to encourage more states to recognize the State of Palestine.
Currently, around 150 countries officially recognize Palestine, which holds a non-member observer status at the UN General Assembly since November 2012. Owing to intense diplomatic efforts, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, more countries are recognizing Palestine, including most recently Spain, Norway and Ireland.
Moreover, the UK is in talks with Saudi Arabia and France over the official recognition of a Palestinian State. The recognition of Palestine by France and the UK – two permanent UN Security Council Members – will add weight to the list of states recognizing Palestine. It will also be the first by G7 member states.
