Cairo: In a phone conversation held Wednesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, discussed ways to boost bilateral ties, especially in terms of increasing bilateral trade and investment exchange.

According to Qatar News Agency, both sides also discussed mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, with Abdelatty pointing out that the continued Israeli military operations in Gaza would only lead to further bloodshed and the worsening of the Palestinian people’s catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

The Egyptian Foreign Minister stressed that the only path to achieving sustainable peace is adherence to the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.