By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Foreign ministers from Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia on Sunday converged in Cairo to “discuss regional developments” and “issues related to peace, security, and stability”.
The conference comes amid regional efforts to support the implementation of a memorandum of understanding signed between the United States and Iran to end their conflict currently on its 4th month.
Also on Sunday, high-level negotiations got underway in Switzerland between Washington and Tehran following the signing of the ceasefire deal.
Those talks were due to start on Friday but were delayed due to Israel’s ongoing attacks on Lebanon, which Tehran claimed undermined the agreement.
In Cairo, Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi hailed intensive coordination among the four countries and stressed the need to ensure the success of the negotiations.
It was the fourth ministerial meeting between the quartet and the first since the conclusion of the deal which aims to end the conflict that began on 28 February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
It provides for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the launch of a 60-day negotiation period on broader issues, including Tehran’s nuclear programme.
