Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, headed to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday to participate in a ministerial meeting of Arab and African countries bordering the Red Sea, according to the ministry.
The meeting is part of a series of sessions held to address strengthening the joint cooperation and coordination between the Red Sea’s riparian countries in different fields, the ministry added.
The countries’ representatives are also expected to address new methods in order to face the joint challenges and threats in the Red Sea, including countering terrorism and organised crime.
“Egypt’s participation comes within the framework of its interest in cooperating with the countries bordering the Red Sea, which was demonstrated through Egypt’s hosting of the first meeting of riparian countries, at the level of senior officials,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Ahmed Hafez said in the statement.
Earlier last year, the first meeting was held on December 11-12 in order to boost cooperation in various fields including political, economic, and cultural cooperation.
At that time, Egypt launched a new initiative to establish a framework between the concerned countries, during a conference called ‘Peace, Security, and Prosperity in the Red Sea: Towards an Arab-African Regional Cooperation Framework’, which was held in Egypt.
Top representatives from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Sudan, Yemen, Djibouti, and Eritrea attended the meeting.
