U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will visit Cairo Sunday to take part in the Gaza reconstruction conference, state-run MENA reported Thursday.
Kerry and Ashton are scheduled to meet Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri and high government officials to discuss regional issues and Egypt's bilateral relations with the U.S. and the EU.
Egypt and Norway will co-host the conference on Sunday. Thirty foreign ministers, 50 delegations, and 20 representatives of regional and international institutions, such as the United Nations, the IMF, and the World Bank, will attend the conference.
The attendees are expected to announce their contributions to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip during the conference.
The cost of rebuilding 17,000 homes destroyed by Israeli bombardment is estimated at 2.5 billion dollars, the Palestinian Authority said earlier, adding that the energy sector will require 250 million dollars after the only power plant in Gaza was destroyed by Israeli missiles.
A long-term truce was announced by Egypt and welcomed by Israel and the Palestinians on August 26, ending a 50 day war that has left 2139 Palestinians killed and over 11,100 injured. On the Israeli side sixty-four soldiers and six civilians were killed.
