Egyptian president urges protection of international navigation amid regional tensions

Hussien Elkabany and Rania Abushamala

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called Saturday for maintaining the stability and freedom of international navigation amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

“The current developments in the Middle East and their negative repercussions on the global economy, trade and energy flows, and supply chains affirm the close link between security and development,” Sisi said in his speech at a closed session of the BRICS summit in the Indian capital New Delhi.

“Given its strategic location and pivotal role in global trade, Egypt recognizes the importance of maintaining the stability and freedom of international navigation,” he added in his comments carried by a presidency statement.

“We must continue building on what has been achieved within BRICS and utilize our countries’ potential by establishing specific projects and programs that support the Sustainable Development Goals, diversify sources of growth, enhance productivity, and narrow development and technological gaps,” he said.

Sisi also expressed Egypt’s desire to assume the BRICS presidency “in the near future.”

He affirmed Cairo’s commitment to continuing close cooperation with member states to develop cooperation across all fields and transform their potential and capabilities into “tangible partnerships that support development and achieve common interests,” according to the statement.

The remarks marked Sisi’s second public call in just 24 hours for stability along international shipping routes.

During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit on Friday, Sisi stressed “the importance of achieving stability amid the circumstances and crises facing the region, particularly regarding the waterways through which a massive volume of international trade passes via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal,” according to a presidency statement.

Sisi’s call came amid escalating tensions around major maritime chokepoints, as navigation through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted by the repercussions of the US-Iran war, which began in February.

The Iran-aligned Houthi group has also made advances toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, raising concerns about far-reaching consequences for navigation through the Red Sea and Egypt’s Suez Canal.