Jonas Gahr Støre is traveling to Egypt at the invitation of US President Donald Trump and the President of Egypt. The goal: to mark the end of the war in Gaza. Palestinian President Abbas will also be present, according to Axios and Haaretz.
On Monday, Donald Trump will travel to the international summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The meeting aims to mark the end of the war in the Gaza Strip and brings together a number of top leaders. It comes in the wake of the peace agreement that was recently signed between Hamas and Israel.
More than 20 leaders are expected to attend the meeting, according to Egyptian authorities. Among those confirmed are French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Jordan's King Abdullah and US President Donald Trump.
Trump has also sent an invitation to Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap), the Prime Minister's Office (SMK) reports. The invitation came on Sunday from the United States and Egypt, the SMK reports.
Støre: Important step towards peace
Støre says that Norway supports the important step towards peace in Gaza.
– Now it is crucial that the hostages and prisoners are released, that humanitarian aid is allowed in, and that the ceasefire holds. Norway will also support ensuring that the Palestinian authorities are secured in the future governance in Gaza, says Støre.
Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide will also participate.
Losing parts of the debate about the speech from the throne
Støre confirms that he is traveling to the Egyptian holiday destination where the summit is being held. This means that Støre will miss the first day of the Speech from the Throne debate in the Storting, which begins Monday and ends Tuesday. Støre is scheduled to return to Norway on Monday evening, according to SMK.
Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are leading the meeting in Egypt, which al-Sisi is hosting.
The meeting could provide even more support for Trump's peace plan for Gaza, which is still not fully in place. Final agreements still need to be made on how Gaza will be governed after the war, security and reconstruction of the strip of land along the Mediterranean.
– The US has succeeded in creating a welcome movement towards peace in Gaza. It is important to support that. At the same time, the road towards lasting peace is still long. Norway is ready to contribute where we can in the further work, says Støre in the press release.
Trump is expected to land in Israel on Monday morning and is scheduled to address the Knesset and meet with families of hostages. After that, he will travel to Egypt, where he will hold a signing ceremony with the guarantors of the Gaza peace agreement: Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.
The part of the summit involving the various world leaders is likely to take place on Tuesday morning, but this could be moved to Monday, according to the website Axios. Either way, this means that Støre will miss at least one of the days of debate in the Storting.
Summit without Israel and Hamas
In addition to ending the fighting in Gaza, the meeting aims to create peace and stability in the Middle East and mark the start of an era of regional stability in the region.
Despite the goal of ending the war, it is unclear whether the meeting will formally bring an end to it. Israel is not participating, according to US officials. Hamas representatives are also not scheduled to be present in Egypt. However, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to attend, according to Axios and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Israel has said it will not agree to end the war until it is certain that Hamas no longer poses a threat and has no role in governing Gaza.
