Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey affirm the importance of ensuring full freedom of navigation in the region

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, and Pakistan reaffirmed yesterday the importance of ensuring full and safe freedom of navigation, considering it a fundamental pillar for global economic stability and the security and safety of international trade flows.

According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom, participated in New York in the sixth meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quadrilateral Regional Group. The meeting also included Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan; Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt; and Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the High-Level Week of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The meeting addressed regional developments and discussed ways to enhance coordination and cooperation among the group’s member states, aiming to de-escalate tensions in the region. It also emphasized the importance of intensifying coordination and consultation and sustaining diplomatic efforts to mitigate the repercussions of regional crises and preserve security and stability, according to SPA.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan reaffirmed the importance of ensuring full and safe freedom of navigation, viewing it as a cornerstone for global economic stability and the security and safety of international trade.

During the meeting, the ministers stressed the necessity of intensifying efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, alongside supporting initiatives aimed at reaching a sustainable understanding that enhances regional security and stability and prevents further tension.

In a joint statement, the ministers expressed deep concern over the ongoing humanitarian suffering in Gaza and called on Israel to immediately fulfill its obligations under the first phase of the comprehensive plan. This includes ensuring the immediate, safe, and unobstructed delivery of humanitarian aid and early recovery supplies, facilitating the rehabilitation of critical infrastructure, and adhering to the ceasefire and ending all violations.

The statement affirmed that the roadmap is an integral part of the comprehensive plan and provides a framework for implementing its second phase. This includes the consolidation of weapons in parallel with the full Israeli withdrawal, the deployment of an international stabilization force, the assumption of responsibilities by the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza across the strip, and the commencement of early recovery and reconstruction efforts throughout the strip. The ministers called on all parties to fulfill their respective obligations in good faith and without delay.

The ministers categorically reaffirmed their rejection of any measures aimed at expelling or forcibly displacing the Palestinian people from their homeland, or any attempts to alter the geographic or demographic character of the occupied Palestinian territory.

In this context, they condemned illegal measures aimed at entrenching Israeli control and annexation, including the accelerated expansion of settlements, land confiscation, the demolition of Palestinian homes, settler violence and terrorism, and forced displacement. They called for an immediate halt to and reversal of these measures. They also expressed deep concern over measures that undermine the historical and legal status quo of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.