UN Secretary-General Guterres met with the head of the League of Arab States in Cairo to discuss de-escalation

Meeting in Cairo

UN Secretary-General António Guterres met in Cairo on Sunday with Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Nabil Fahmy. According to the UN office in Cairo, the discussion covered regional developments, advancing peace through dialogue, and strengthening cooperation between the UN and the League of Arab States for stability and sustainable development in the Arab region. The meeting took place in the Egyptian capital, where Guterres arrived on Saturday for diplomatic consultations aimed at de-escalating tensions between the United States and Iran and supporting a diplomatic resolution of the conflict together with Egypt and regional and international partners, Anadolu reports.

Humanitarian context

As the UN office in Cairo reported, Guterres also held a meeting with the UN country team in Egypt and regional directors, discussing the organization's work with the Egyptian government and support for people affected by the humanitarian crises in Gaza and Sudan. Egypt is hosting Palestinians who left the Gaza Strip after the war began in October 2023, including patients and wounded people in need of treatment, as well as Sudanese refugees who fled the war that started in April 2023. According to estimates by the Egyptian government cited in a 2025 UNICEF report, more than 1.2 million Sudanese have arrived in Egypt since the start of the Sudanese conflict, in addition to approximately 5 million Sudanese who lived in the country before the war. There are no official figures on the number of Palestinians who have entered Egypt.

Message and previous contacts

In a post on X, Guterres said he was carrying a message calling for an end to the expansion of the war, the protection of civilians, and the creation of conditions for diplomacy and peace. the impact of regional escalation on the security and stability of the Arab region and its consequences for international shipping, energy security, and global trade.

Significance of the meeting

The meeting underscores Egypt's role as a venue for regional diplomacy and a key host country for refugees: according to the cited figures, the country has already taken in more than 1.2 million Sudanese since the start of the war, as well as Palestinians from Gaza. For residents of the region, the practical significance of such consultations lies in the topics under discussion — humanitarian support for those affected in Gaza and Sudan, and the consequences of escalation for shipping, energy, and trade. Sources do not report any concrete outcomes of the talks.