Egyptian-Gulf consultations to halt escalation and tension in Yemen and the Red Sea
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan held separate phone calls on Tuesday, Wednesday, to discuss ways to maintain “continuous communication and coordination among brotherly countries.”
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated that the calls discussed “developments in the crisis with Iran and the recent escalation in the region, as well as developments in Yemen and the Red Sea area.”
Abdelatty emphasized “the importance of pooling efforts and unifying actions to reduce tensions and prevent the conflict from widening, and urged support for political and diplomatic tracks to resolve the current crisis, thereby contributing to enhancing regional security and stability. He stressed the necessity of safeguarding freedom of maritime navigation in the Red Sea and the Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab straits, and rejecting the use of these straits and passages as tools for pressure or bargaining in these crises.”
He underscored “Egypt’s full support for the security and stability of the Gulf states and brotherly Arab countries, and its rejection of any aggression against their territories or attempts to undermine their integrity, as well as Egypt’s complete solidarity and support for all measures taken by the Kingdom to preserve its sovereignty and security.”
During the calls, the ministers agreed on “the necessity of maintaining freedom of maritime navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab, and the importance of political and diplomatic solutions to resolve current regional crises.”
In an “emergency” parliamentary session convened by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for the House of Representatives, the discussions featured “an extended dialogue between MPs and the government. The House approved, following the consent of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, a bill submitted by MP Hisham El-Hosary to postpone the implementation of Law No. 174 of 2025, which issues the Criminal Procedure Law, for one year.”
The bill comprises two articles. The first stipulates replacing the phrase “October 1, 2027” with the phrase “October 1 following the date of its publication” contained in Article Six of Law No. 174 of 2025 issuing the Criminal Procedure Law. The second article states that “this law shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall take effect from the day following its publication. This law shall be sealed with the State’s emblem and enforced as one of its laws.”
El-Hosary said that “the reasons for submitting the amendment, according to the explanatory memorandum of the bill, are that practical considerations at the time of drafting the law necessitated postponing the implementation of its provisions until October 1 following the date of its publication, meaning October 1, 2027, to allow sufficient time to complete the necessary preparations, ensuring the proper implementation of its provisions and achieving its intended objectives.”
