EGYPT has welcomed Slovenia’s decision to recognize the state of Palestine, a move applauded by several EU member states. The decision comes after it got 52 votes in Parliament on Tuesday.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Ambassador Ahmed Abou Zeid tweeted Wednesday commending Slovenia for recognizing the state of Palestine as the decision harnessed 52 votes at the 90-seat parliament on Tuesday.
Recently, several EU members have recognized the state and a recent move is the one made by Spain, Norway, and Ireland in May, joining Sweden, Cyprus, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. Further, the total has been upped to 12 out of 25 EU members. Slovenian minister of foreign and European affairs, Tanja Fajon called the move a historic decision, saying it was long overdue
It is worthy of note that over 140 countries almost two thirds of the United Nations’ 193 member states – recognize Palestine, which has been a non-member observer state since 2012. To become a full member, it has to be admitted by the UN Security Council.
It should be recalled that a vote on full UN membership of Palestine was carried out at the Security Council on April 18, and the outcome was 12 in support, abstention by the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and a veto by the United States.
