Cairo - Hala Arafa - Beth:

Today, Thursday, December 16, 2021 in Cairo, the Follow-up and Political Consultation Committee held a meeting between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt.

The Saudi side was chaired by Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs

 The Egyptian side was chaired by His Excellency Mr. Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs, after it was preceded by a number of meetings at the level of senior officials in which the assistant foreign ministers from both sides participated, during which they discussed a number of political issues of common interest in preparation for the meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries.

According to the statement issued...

The meeting comes as an embodiment of the historical ties and brotherly relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and within the framework of the two brotherly countries’ keenness to enhance prospects for bilateral cooperation in all fields, and in implementation of the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, and in implementation of the provisions Memorandum of Understanding to establish a follow-up committee and political consultation between the two countries, signed in Cairo on 26/6/2007.

The two sides reviewed the distinguished bilateral relations between the two countries at all levels, and praised the cooperation and coordination achieved between the two sides in the political, economic, security and cultural fields in a way that enhances the security and stability of the two brotherly countries and supports the interests of their peoples.

The consultations showed the consensus of the two brotherly countries’ views and visions regarding many issues and crises that the region and the world are going through, in a way that emphasized the depth of the strategic relations that bind them, and the agreement of their serious political will to achieve stability in the region.

The two sides discussed the situation in the region, and agreed on the importance of continuing to coordinate their efforts in order to support national states and the security and stability of the peoples of the region. relevant and in accordance with the principles of international law.

The two sides stressed the importance of the Palestinian issue as the central issue of the Arab nation, and that a just and comprehensive solution to it requires the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international legitimacy resolutions.

The two sides stressed that Arab security is an indivisible whole, and the importance of joint Arab action and full Arab solidarity to preserve Arab national security, with the capabilities and capabilities that its countries have that qualify them to assume this responsibility, which is a responsibility that falls on all Arab countries, and is undertaken by both Egypt and the Kingdom Saudi Arabia in the framework of their continuous work to support the security and stability of the region.

In this regard, the two sides praised the recent meeting between the foreign ministers of Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries on December 12, 2021 to inaugurate the political consultation mechanism between the two sides. At the level of foreign ministers and senior officials.

The two sides affirmed their rejection of any attempts by regional parties to interfere in the internal affairs of Arab countries or threaten their stability and undermine the interests of their people, whether that is through tools of ethnic and sectarian incitement, or tools of terrorism and terrorist groups, or through expansionist perceptions that do not respect the sovereignty of states or the imperatives of respecting good neighborliness. They agreed to continue fighting terrorist organizations in the region in all their forms, and reviewed the efforts made by them in this regard.

The two sides condemned attempts to jeopardize the security and safety of navigation in the Arabian Gulf, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea, and stressed the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation in those pivotal sea lanes, and the need to confront any similar attempts as they represent a threat to regional and international security and stability.

The Egyptian side expressed its solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in all the measures it takes to protect its national security. The Egyptian side also affirmed its rejection of any attacks on the territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, stressing that the security of the Kingdom and the Arab Gulf region is an integral part of the Egyptian national security.

The two sides stressed the need to preserve Libya’s stability, unity and territorial integrity, and stressed the need to hold elections on their scheduled date at the end of this year, and stressed the need for foreign forces, mercenaries and foreign fighters to leave within a specific time frame in implementation of Security Council Resolution No. 2570 and the outcomes issued by the Paris Summit and the Berlin Conference 2 The Mechanism of Libya's Neighboring Countries, the League of Arab States and the African Union.

The Saudi side affirmed its full support for Egyptian water security as an integral part of Arab water security, and therefore the importance of reaching at the earliest opportunity a binding legal agreement on the rules for filling and operating the Renaissance Dam, in implementation of the presidential statement issued by the Security Council in September 2021, in order to avert damages resulting from this project on the two downstream states, and enhances cooperation between the peoples of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

The two sides discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries, and agreed on the need to remove obstacles to increasing trade and investment exchange between them. The two sides expressed their full satisfaction with the development of cooperation in all fields, with the importance of continuing bilateral coordination between experts to reach more aspects of cooperation and coordination between the two brotherly countries.

At the conclusion of the meeting, and within the framework of consensus in the visions between the two countries regarding many issues and crises in the region, the two sides stressed the importance of continuing coordination and political consultation to confront the challenges facing the two parties and the region, in light of their pivotal position and responsibilities towards its security and stability.