Cairo: Egypt's Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, has held talks with NATO's Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood, Javier Colomina, focusing on strengthening bilateral cooperation and addressing developments across the region.

According to Qatar News Agency, Abdelatty welcomed ongoing efforts to launch and activate partnership programs aimed at enhancing cooperation with the alliance, stressing Egypt's interest in benefiting from NATO's expertise in a number of areas.

He praised preparations for the first round of counter-terrorism dialogue between Egypt and NATO, as well as plans to hold a bilateral expert workshop on mine clearance. The minister underlined Egypt's keenness to deepen cooperation in capacity-building and knowledge transfer, particularly in counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, demining, and climate change.

The talks also included an exchange of assessments on the growing challenges and threats facing the region. In this context, Abdelatty outlined Egypt's efforts to move towards the second phase of the US president's plan for Gaza, emphasising the importance of announcing a temporary Palestinian technocratic committee to manage daily affairs in the territory.

He also called for the establishment of an international stabilisation force in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2803.

On the issue of Israel's recognition of what it terms "Somaliland", Egypt's foreign minister said the move violated international law and undermined Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He warned that such steps risk destabilizing the Horn of Africa and threatening security in the Red Sea region.

Colomina is currently visiting Cairo as part of NATO's engagement with partners in its southern neighbourhood.