The Free Egyptians Party (FEP) said Monday it is yet to form a final opinion on the ongoing public debate regarding the maritime demarcation agreement, under which the islands of Tiran and Sanafir will be shifted to Saudi Arabia.
“The party sees conflicting statements [on whether the islands are Egyptian or Saudi], as well as a social division, further complicated by the abruptness of the announcement, and the media and social media’s handling of the issue,” FEP’s political bureau member Amira Al-Adly said in a press conference.
Al-Adly added that the party will form its own committee to examine the historical documents that will be presented by the government to parliament, and will listen to opposing viewpoints before taking an official stance, supported with documents.
Meanwhile, Al-Adly further commented on FEP’s leaders’ visit to Italy. A delegation from the party, led by its founder Naguib Sawiris, its recently elected president Essam Khalil, and head of its foreign affairs department head Nader El-Sharkawy, met Italian MP Fabrizio Cicchitto, president of the Foreign Affairs Committee in parliament, on 11 April.
The party sought to address the weakening Egyptian-Italian relations, following each party’s claims regarding investigations into the murder of Italian PhD candidate Giulio Regeni.
“The most important thing we noted about the visit is that Egypt is not isolated from the world, and that every single word used in the media, whether on TV programmes or in newspapers was being translated and reached Italy, which brings us to demand regulations on media performance, in order to avoid unnecessary tensions,” Al-Adly added.
