Egypt’s cabinet approves agreement on Red islands handover to Saudi Arabia

Thursday 29-12-2016 06:04 PM

Protest at the Lawyers Syndicate on Apr. 14, 2016 against the transfer of the Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia

CAIRO, Dec 29 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt’s cabinet approved on Thursday the Egyptian-Saudi maritime border demarcation agreement and referred it to the parliament for ratification.

The agreement stipulates that the two islands of Tiran and Sanafir fall within Saudi territorial waters.  

The administrative court had annulled the agreement in June and affirmed that the two islands fall within Egypt's borders. The State Lawsuits Authority, representing the government, challenged verdict later. 

The Supreme Administrative Court is set to rule on Jan 16 on the government's appeal against the annulment of the agreement. 

The agreement, signed during Saudi King Salman bin Abdel Aziz’s first official visit to Cairo in April, stirred controversy, with critics accusing President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of "selling Egypt" to Saudi Arabia in return for aid.

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