Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, met with Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the sidelines of the high-level segment of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 21 September.
Gamal Roshdy, official spokesperson for the Secretary-General, stated that at the outset of the meeting, Guterres expressed his gratitude for the longstanding partnership with the League of Arab States throughout his tenure, and in particular, his strong and close friendship with its Secretary-General, Mr. Aboul Gheit.
Roshdy added that the meeting addressed the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza resulting from the ongoing war of extermination waged by Israel against civilians in the Strip, and its adverse impact on diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire and end the war. Mr. Aboul Gheit welcomed the series of international recognitions of the State of Palestine, stressing that these steps generate growing momentum towards a peaceful settlement based on the two-state solution. Both Aboul Gheit and Guterres affirmed the critical importance of the conference on implementing the two-state solution, scheduled to be held in New York on 22 September and the need to translate the principles of the "New York Declaration," issued last July, into action as a serious and practical path to ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders.
The spokesperson further noted that the meeting also covered developments in Sudan and Syria, along with a number of other regional and international issues.
