Union minister KV Singh to represent PM Modi at Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh will represent Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a peace summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday.

PM Modi was invited for the summit that is expected to be attended by US President Donald Trump and nearly 20 other world leaders.

New Delhi has deputed Singh to attend it as a special representative of the prime minister.

"Arrived in the historic city of Cairo as special representative of Prime Minister @narendramodi to attend the Gaza Peace Summit at Sharm el-Sheikh," Singh said on 'X'.

The 'Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit', being hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, will discuss ways to bring lasting peace to Gaza as well as to the wider Middle-East. It will be co-chaired by al-Sisi and Trump.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italy's Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are among leaders attending the summit.

"The summit will be co-chaired by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Donald Trump, with the participation of leaders from more than 20 countries," an Egyptian readout said.

"The summit aims to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East, and usher in a new phase of regional security and stability," it said.

The summit is taking place days after the first phase of President Trump's Gaza peace plan has come into effect.

The ceasefire in Gaza came into effect on Friday.

It is expected that Hamas will release around 20 living hostages on Monday morning.

Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas attacked Israeli cities on October 7, 2023 killing about 1,200 people. Hamas also took 251 people as hostages and over 50 of them are still in its captivity.

Israeli military operations have killed over 66,000 Palestinians since then, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

Gaza has been reeling under a massive humanitarian crisis largely due to scarcity of food and medicines. The World Health Organisation said last month that Gaza's malnutrition rates have reached "alarming levels". PTI MPB KVK KVK