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Egypt largest contributor among Arab states to UN missions: Official The working dinner focused on challenges facing UN peace operations and how to overcome them
Egypt presented its comprehensive vision regarding peacekeeping operations during the third annual ministerial dinner organised jointly by Finland, Rwanda, Indonesia, Uruguay and the International Peace Institute (IPI), according to a Foreign Ministry statement Tuesday. The vision was presented by Assistant to the Foreign Minister for Multilateral Relations and International Security, Ambassador Hisham Badr, on behalf of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, late September at IPI. Badr stated that Egypt contributes to the UN peacekeeping missions through army and police personnel as well as observers, amounting to 2,700 personnel, which makes Egypt the largest contributor among Arab states. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry presented Egypt's efforts in supporting peacekeeping operations, which included hosting Arab consultations and co-organising African consultations, in its statement during the dinner. The statement further alluded to the importance of holding trilateral negotiations among the Security Council, Troop and Police Contributing Countries and the UN secretariat, particularly with regards to adopting the operation's mandate, its duration and exit strategy. Egypt also called for enhancing cooperation between the UN and the African Union in terms of regular financial assistance. The working dinner entitled "Uniting Our Strengths for Peace: A High-Level Dialogue on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations" was attended by more than 30 foreign ministers and high-level officials as well as the UN Head of Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous. Participants emphasised the need for better planning and rapid deployment of peacekeeping operations as well as the importance of protecting civilians. On 28 September, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US President Barack Obama joined nearly 50 heads of state and government representatives from around the world to announce significant new contributions to UN Peacekeeping. This year's Leaders' Summit concluded with pledges that amounted to more than 40,000 troops and police as well as other contributions in the form of equipment like helicopters. "An unprecedented number of countries made substantial pledges to strengthen peacekeeping operations at a time when the need is greater than ever," said the UN Head of Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous. The summit took place at the UN Headquarters in New York. The first summit of the kind took place in 2014, with 30 countries having made "concrete pledges" of assistance to UN peacekeeping.
