Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty stressed on Saturday that the security of the Red Sea is limited to the countries bordering the Red Sea only, and that “we do not accept any military presence there.”
This came during a press conference held by the Egyptian Foreign Minister with his Eritrean counterpart, Osman Saleh, and Somali counterpart, Ahmed Fiqi, in Cairo on Saturday.
Abdelatty stressed that “Egypt, Somalia and Eritrea agreed on the commitment of the three countries to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sudan.”
He explained that he had agreed with his Somali and Eritrean counterparts to support the unity and sovereignty of Somalia, and to provide all possible support from Egypt and Eritrea to extend its control over Somali territory.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister added that he had thanked Somalia and Eritrea for their support of the Egyptian candidate for the position of Director-General of UNESCO.
Abdelatty also stressed Egypt’s rejection of “unilateral” actions regarding shared water resources, and the need to respect the rules of international law and adhere to the principle of consensus among the Nile Basin countries.
This came during the Egyptian Foreign Minister’s reception on Saturday of the Minister of Trade and Industry of South Sudan, former South Sudan Ambassador to Egypt, Joseph Mum Majak, on the occasion of the end of his duties in Cairo.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “Abdelatty congratulated the South Sudanese minister on assuming his new position, expressing appreciation for the historical relations between the two countries.”
Abdelatty pointed out that “Egypt was the second country to recognize the Republic of South Sudan immediately after its independence in 2011, and that Egypt has always provided full support to South Sudan to achieve peace and stability in the country, and to implement development projects in several areas, most notably irrigation, water resources and electricity, within the framework of achieving common interests.”
